Rice is staple food for many Asian countries and is an important cereal crop that feeds more than half of the world's population. From comfort foods and side dishes to main courses, it is a great ingredient for your recipes. There are various varieties of rice, that are nutritious and healthy. Rice contains 90% carbohydrates, 8% of protein and 2% of fat.
The health benefits of rice include its ability to provide instant energy, regulate and improve bowel movements, aids in digestion, reduce high blood pressure, stabilize blood sugar levels, and slow down the ageing process, aid in skin care, boost metabolism, help in weight loss, and boost the immune system.
Brown rice vs white rice: Which one is healthier?
- 1 cup of cooked brown rice provides 218 calories, while white rice provides 242 calories per cup.
- Brown rice contains more vitamins and minerals as compared to white rice.
- Brown rice has a lower glycemic index (GI) than white rice.
How to keep your rice fresh:
- Store it in a air-tight plastic container to protect it from insects.
- Keep it in the sun for about 3-4 hours for making it pest free.
- Dry few neem leaves and tie them in a muslin cloth and keep in the rice container. This will keep the pest at bay.
How to cook rice perfectly:
- To cook long-grained white rice: use 2:1 ratio ( 2 cups of water and 1 cups of rice).
- Add a teaspoon of ghee in the boiling water to prevent the rice grains from sticking to each other.
Types of rice:
: White rice is the one which is milled to remove the bran, husk and the germ.
It is the one which is milled to remove the outer husk, but retain its bran layer. It is more nutritious than white rice.
: Black rice also known as “forbidden rice”is a highly nutritious source of iron, vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. It actually turns purple when you cook it.
: Aromatic rices have a distinctive aroma when cooked. Popular examples are basmati, Jasmine , Texmati, and Pecan wild rice.
Sticky rice, or “glutinous rice,” is a short-grained rice that does not contain any dietary gluten.
: Instant or quick rice is cooked before being dehydrated and packaged.
There are hundreds of rice recipes made across the world and the most popular rice dishes are biryani, pulao, curd rice and ghee rice. Here is the list of ten rice recipes that you will definitely want to add to your cookbook.
Chicken Biryani Recipe
Make this scrumptious Chicken Biryani and see the heads turning your way as the aroma of this delectable dish will be all over your house.
Coconut Rice Recipe
It is one of the most popular traditional rice dishes from South Indian cuisine.
Curd Rice Recipe
Curd rice is a comfort one pot meal when you don't have to prepare an elaborate meal.
Fried Rice Recipe
It is a perfect dish to serve a dinner gathering. There are a lot of delicious flavours in this recipe.
Sweet Kesar Rice Recipe
Try this North Indian dessert made with Basmati rice, milk, cardamom and nuts.You will love the aroma when it gets ready!
Mutton Biryani Recipe
This biryani is a medley of beautiful aromas, flavours and taste.You will surely relish this biryani recipe with the whole family.
Rice Kheer Recipe
No one can resist this all time favourite dessert recipe.
Tomato Rice Recipe
This rice recipe cooked with ripe juicy tomatoes along with aromatic spices is a delicious and tasty treat to the palate.
Vegetable Pulao Recipe
This recipes is the perfect example of one-pot meal for lunch and dinner. For all the vegetable lovers, this one is a healthy and delcious dish.
Zarda Pulao Recipe
There are a lot of delicious flavours in this dish. It takes 30 minutes to prepare this lip-smacking dessert.