Grain of the Week - 50, 51 & 52 - White Quinoa

I started the 'Grain of the Week' project Week 1 of this and even I am surprised it has survived for 52 weeks albeit a few grains sharing multi-weeks like this one today. The project has helped me in discovering new grains that I have never used before and learned about a quite a few new ones. Thanks also to readers who shared the grains that they have come across and liked.

The project started with Red Quinoa and fittingly comes to an end with White Quinoa. Quinoa as we all know is an ancient grain of the Andean region of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Columbia, closely related to the Amaranth grain. Domesticated about 5000 years ago it has suddenly become a super grain for the rest of the world. Wiki. Thanks to the Andean people who have preserved it for future generations.

2013 was declared as the 'International Year of Quinoa' by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Rightfully so 2013 was the year when the Quinoa popularity was at its peak.

Quinoa is related to the Chard, Beets and Spinach family and is more of a seed than grain.

Quinoa is rich in protein making it a perfect for vegetarians and vegans who want up the intake of protein. It is also gluten free and has a low glycemic index making it a good source of carbohydrate for those trying to control blood sugar. It is also rich in minerals like Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and Iron. It is also rich in antioxidants, those chemicals which are essential for fighting disease and aging.

Quinoa needs to be soaked and washed to remove the outer coating which is bitter. I rinse it in several changes of water after soaking for about 20 minutes or so.

Quinoa can be cooked and eaten like rice, used in salads or to make dosai and idli. Listed are some recipes that I have tried with Quinoa.

1. How to cook Quinoa?
2. Quinoa Puliyodarai - Tamarind Spiced Quinoa
3. Quinoa Patties or Cutlets with green chilies and Cheese
4. Red Quinoa Idly - Steamed Quinoa Cakes
5. Quinoa Pudding with dried fruits and nuts

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Grain of the Week - 48 and 49 Par boiled Rice

While parboiled might sound like the rice has been precooked and sold in packets which is just heated to eat. It is not. It is a method of how rice is processed. Parboiled rice is made by a process by which the rice with the hull is soaked, steamed and dried after which the hull is removed.

Most parboiled rice is usually pale yellow or amber colored. This kind of rice is nutritionally superior to the completely polished white rice. Not all parboiled rice are made the same. The long grain par boiled rice bought in the US is different from the ponni parboiled rice. The cooked rice is single and separate but it certainly is no Basmati rice.

Though the rice is called parboiled it cannot be used for some of the recipes that call for par boiled rice like idlies. The rice when soaked and blended becomes a bit slimy. It can be salvaged with the addition of some cooked rice or soaked beaten rice which is what we did when we did not have the luxury of ponni parboiled rice or idli rice.

Soaking the rice for about 20-30 minutes before cooking the rice makes it cook faster and fluffier. In a pinch I have used parboiled along with idli rice to make idli batter but they won't work just by itself.

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Grain of the Week - 46 & 47 - Idli Rice

The softness and fluffiness of idli (Steamed rice and lentil cakes) to a large extent depends on rice than anything else. Idli perhaps can be made with any kind of parboiled rice or pulungal arisi. Not the parboiled rice which is glassy and translucent but the one that is opaque and white and not shiny. But the one that works best is what is sold as idli rice.

Short and opaque this rice is perfect for making idli. While any kind of rice can be used for making dosai, idli is a different matter altogether. When the rice is soaked and ground it should give a good amount of ground batter. Idly Ponni or IR 20 are the commonly used varieties of rice used for making idli.

PS: A friend on FB says the idli rice is called Kalla Muthu.

The process of soaking the rice and making idli is detailed in this post.

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Grain of the Week - 45 - Nepali Kodo Millet - Finger Millet

The Nepali millet that is called Kodo millet is what we refer to as Finger Millet or Ragi in Tamil. The one from Nepal is slightly bigger than the finger millet we are familiar with and it is also slightly darker and rough to the touch.

Finger millet grows in the arid regions of South India and as it adapts to high altitudes it is also grown in the mountainous regions of Nepal. The nutritious Kodo Millet is used to make several delicacies in Nepal. It is also used to make Rakshi the distilled alcoholic drink popular in Nepal (source).

Kodo is rich in iron and calcium and the phytochemicals found in the millet slows down the digestion process and hence is considered a good food for diabetics. Kodo is rich in fiber and the ground millet flour is used for making a variety of delicious recipes.

Moreover most millets are grown organically and including them as part of a regular diet will be a smart thing to do.


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Grain of the Week - 43 & 44 - Kamut Wheat

Kamut Wheat is a trademarked Khorasan wheat variety which is much more nutritious than the common wheat which has genetically modified beyond recognition for making fluffy bread. Khorsan wheat is an ancient grain from Egypt. The story has it that the grains of the Khorasan wheat were sent to the US by a soldier who found them in King Tut's tomb in the 1940s. The grain was not immediately cultivated till 2 farmers from Montana cultivated the ancient and registered it as Kamut in the 1970s to keep it in its original form.

Kamut Wheat - Picture Courtesy (http://grainplacefoods.com/product/organic-kamut-khorasan-wheat/)

If you are buying whole wheat and it is called Kamut, it is understood to be the original Khorasan wheat, organic and not genetically modified, not contaminated with other modern wheat . Source

Winter Wheat

The Khorasan wheat has higher protein content than regular wheat and is also rich in minerals like zinc, magnesium and selenium. Khorasan wheat can be used in all of the recipes that call for wheat. If you look at a grain of Khorasan wheat it is much lengthier than the regular wheat. As for people with gluten allergy, the Khorasan wheat does not aggravate the symptoms apparently.

Where purchased: Whole Foods.

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Grain of the Week - 41 & 42 - Ponni Parboiled Rice (Ponni Puzhungal arisi – புழுங்கல் அரிசி)

Every household has a house rice, the one that is regularly used while the other varieties and grains make an appearance every now and then. In our house Ponni Parboiled Rice is that rice. Parboiled rice gets its generic name from the process of boiling, steaming and drying the rice before it is milled. This makes the rice more nutritious than rice that is milled to remove the husk and polished, what
we usually call raw rice (Pachha Arisi – பச்சரிசி). Ponni is also available as raw rice and is shinier and whiter than the parboiled kind.

Parboiled is sometimes thought of as a name given to precooked rice but here it is not. Cooked parboiled rice is much softer to the touch than cooked raw rice. The steaming in the parboiling process enables the rice to absorb all the nutrients and changes the starch so when it is cooked it is less glutinous and firmer, less sticky and less dry. source:

Parboiled rice does not cook faster than raw rice, instead it actually takes a bit longer and the quantity of water added is a bit more as well. Ponni parboiled rice can be used to make pretty much all rice dishes including biryani.

Ponni rice as we know it today is the product of the Tamil Nadu Rice Research institute's work to give a better yielding, disease resistant variety to the Cauvery Delta farmers. Known by its former name "mashuri kuttai" the rice has through various research cycles before it arrived at its current form. Source - The Hindu


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Grain of the Week - 40 - Jasmine Rice

Jasmine Rice is a long grain variety of rice that is also called fragrant Thai rice. Jasmine is available as both brown rice and white rice. The brown rice has a better nutrition profile than the white rice.

Jasmine rice when cooked is bright white and they stick together. This is different than when Basmati rice is cooked where the grains are separate. We usually prefer eating Jasmine Rice as accompaniment with Chinese stir fries. The scent and aroma when cooked is caused by the chemical 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline which is present in elevated levels in most fragrant rice. An electric rice cooker or stove top might be the best method of cooking rather than a pressure cooker.

Jasmin Rice is originally from Thailand where it is has been cultivated for centuries initially mainly for royalty. The rice today is popular all over South East Asia.

While the nutrition profile of most white rice varieties don't differ by much, the history of rice and how they came to be are very interesting.



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Grain of the Week - 39 - Muthu Samba Rice

Muthu Samba Rice the staple rice of SriLanka is one of the prettiest grains of rice you will ever see. Shiny and shaped like a tiny pearl (muthu in Tamil translates to pearl in English) it is very nice looking rice. But the praise from me stops right there. The rice has a distinct smell that is delicious or downright disgusting depending on the person.

My SriLankan friend told me that the rice is the smell of her childhood and it usually brought back good food memories for her. Her daughter and son on the other hand call it "poo poo" rice because of the strange smell. She gave me some rice to try, even before cooking just the raw rice has a distinct smell that is not very pleasant.

Remember the Red Samba Rice that I talked about a few weeks back? That rice on the other hand does have a faint smell when raw but after several washings before cooking it has a faint smell which is not overpowering and is very tasty.

Take a look at this article "Why does Muthu Samba Rice Stink?" and the comment sections which clearly shows that this is one of those things that you have to get used to.

As for the nutrition details, muthu samba is par boiled. What does parboiled mean? Parboiling is the process where the rice is partially boiled in its husk, steamed and then dried. The boiling process transfers the nutrients from the husk are transferred to the endosperm. This preserves almost as much nutrients as a brown rice. Back home parboiled rice is what we ate mostly. The problem here in the US, getting good parboiled rice.

White raw rice on the other hand (Basmati, Sona Masuri) are milled - the husk, bran and germ are all removed leaving only the glucose rich endosperm. It is then polished to get the shiny look.

Brown rice is the most nutritious with just the husk removed giving it a nuttier taste.

Source:Differences between Brown, Raw and Parboiled Rice

Tell me if Muthu Samba Rice for you is pleasant or unpleasant?


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Grain of the Week - 38 - Indian Cowpeas

What we know as cow peas in India especially in South India is smaller and brown in color when compared to the Cow peas of Southern US which are much bigger and usually cream colored or white.

These cow peas are a much preferred legume for cultivation in the drier, sub arid regions of South India. The cow pea provides plenty of nitrogen to the soil and it is used intercropped with other cereal crops for the nutrition it provides to the soil.

Cow peas are rich source of dietary fiber and protein. It also contains potassium and iron which are required nutrients for the body. Cow peas is cooked in several different ways. The most popular recipe in the Kongu region is this way of cooking it in a kuzhambu usually with eggplants/brinjal. They can also be cooked with bottle gourd, bitter gourd.

Indian Cow peas - Black Eyed Peas

The broken cow peas can be used to make this lentil-rice dish called arisiyum paruppu saatham.

Par boiled cow peas can be used in salads and can be eaten as such. I had a colleague who ate cow peas and vegetables only for lunch - no rice.

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Grain of the Week - 37 - Pinkeye Purple Hull Southern Pea (Cowpea)

This Southern pea with a purple hull more commonly called Cowpea is very popular vegetable grown in Arkansas but also popular all over Southern US. The pea is believed to have originated in Africa and came to the US via the West Indies. I grew this pea this summer and it has been very prolific, drought tolerant and needs minimum care.

Like its cousin the black eyed pea, the pink eye pea is high in fiber and protein. It is rich in Vitamin A and C. It also has other vitamins like niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin and thiamin.

Notice the purple hull?

Cow Peas is a versatile bean that can be used in a variety of dishes. Though not very common in the Northern US, in Southern US they are sign of good luck and is cooked on New Years for bringing good luck throughout the year. While the dried Black Eyed Peas is common of which I am not very fond of, these fresh cow peas are another matter altogether. Creamy with a nutty flavor these are a delight.

If you are trying to grow beans these should on top of your list. In our neck of the woods with hot humid summers these peas are the perfect beans to grow. They sprout easily and there are very few pests that attack the plant. The tender green pods (karamani in Tamil) can be cooked in curries, stir fries and the like. When mature the peas are shelled and they can be used in a variety of preparations - curries, stir fries, rice dishes, we made vadais with them and also dosai. They were all delicious.

In the US these cow peas are mostly commonly used in a dish called Hoppin' John thought to have been brought to the Southern US from Africa. Simmered with bacon and rice, this recipe's origin could even have been India.

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Grain of the Week - 36 - Kalijira Rice

There are so many rice varieties that it is almost impossible to keep track of them. Now that I voluntarily go looking for new varieties it is pretty obvious that I have hardly scratched the surface. I am not sure why I did not get to Kalijira rice sooner. Necessity is the mother of invention! That is how I chanced upon this rice. When I ran out of the Seeraga Samba rice that I had carried from back home I went looking for it in the Indian store, did not find seeraga samba but found Kalijira instead. It looked very similar to the Seeraga Samba and the names seems to imply they could be the same rice.

Seergam means cumin in Tamil and Jira in Hindi means Cumin. But they are two different rice varieties. Kalijira is grown in Bangladesh and from my reading Kali means black, while the rice is white apparently the unhulled rice is black and looks like cumin and hence the name. It is also called "Prince Of Rice" because of its aroma, taste and shape it acquires when cooked. It is a special occasion rice.Source.

While today, Basmati rice is the default rice for cooking Biryani, back home I have never tasted Biryani with Basmati - these days though everybody uses it I guess because it is more commonly and cheaply available. Biryani was always made with Seeraga Samba much more flavorful and tastier than the bland Basmati.

In the US, Basmati is ubiquitous and two decades ago when I first got here, forget about Kalijira there was no other rice available but Basmati. Period. For a period Basmati is all I cooked and while in India it was one of the costliest rice here in the US it was the cheapest. Even now.

Biryani made with Basmati is drier thereby requiring more fat to make it moist. Kalijira on the other hand elevates the taste of the Biryani and it is much more moist.

I always vow not to buy Basmati anymore and end up buying it anyway because it is everywhere. I bought a packet of Kalijira just recently and renewed the vow again.

Look at this link for the Seeraga Samba Rice.

If you have cooked with both Kalijira or Seeraga Samba and Basmati which do you like better?

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