How to use native rice varieties everyday?

How to use native rice varieties every day?- A guide to using traditional rice varieties

How to use native rice varieties every day? A complete guide with recipes to use native traditional rice varieties in your daily meals.

Before I commence with the blog about “How to use native rice varieties every day?”, let me say a big hi to all readers. It has been close to 4 months of inactivity in the blog owing to personal reasons. Despite my absence, all of you have been constantly supporting KitchenKathukutty & I am truly grateful. Here is a compilation of information about each traditional/ indigenous native rice variant along with the recipes you can try out of them.

How to use native rice varieties every day?

The native rice varieties of Tamilnadu were close to 4 lakhs and now have only less than 1000. Each traditional rice variety has a huge list of health benefits and a unique significance. As KitchenKathukutty focuses on “Creating Healthier Lives” , spreading awareness about these rice varieties is on the top of my agenda and I strongly wish the usage once becomes the norm of every household.

Here is an attempt to create a guide on cooking and using native varieties with detailed recipes based on my knowledge and experience. Kindly bookmark the page as I would be adding recipes and information to this post on a regular basis. A very humble & kind request: Don’t copy or reproduce this in any format as it is a product of my uncountable hours of hard work.

Karuppu Kavuni Arisi

It is Black Kavuni Rice, the ancient Forbidden Rice. This is one of the oldest traditional native rice varieties and a variant rich in antioxidants, fibre and protein. It has a purple and black pigmentation and this denotes the presence of antioxidants in them. The rice can prevent cancer and is used as a medicine in China. The rice is very suitable for diabetic people and people who are obese due to the reduced glycemic index.

Recipes :(Please click on the names for detailed recipes)

Porridge is the best dish that can be made out of this recipe & halwa is a popular choice.

Check out the recipe of karuppu kavuni idly/dosa by clicking the image below

Thanga Samba Rice:

A traditional rice variety that is white in colour and takes 130 days for cultivation. The name comes from its gold-like appearance when sun-dried. There are certain references that claim that intake of thanga samba rice can add shine to your skin and it has anti-ageing properties. It is said to strengthen your body and also helps in improved longevity.

Recipe: (Please click on the names for detailed recipes)

All rice varieties – I tried toor dhal rice and here is the recipe

All batters.

You can use it for your daily lunch.

Ottadaiyan Rice:

Ottadaiyaan(ஒட்டடையான்) is a red rice variety which is a traditional rice variant. It grows for 180 -200 days and is 6-7 feet tall. I couldn’t find much information on this variant.

• Recommended for Diabetic Patients
• Improves your digestive system and cures constipation.
• Builds stamina and improves health
• Rich in fibre

Recipes: (Please click on the names for detailed recipes)

Kozhukkattai

Aapam

Idly/dosa

Idiyappam

Appam

Paniyaram

Poongar Rice

We(India & TamilNadu ) had lakhs of rice varieties long ago of which we don’t even have a few \1000 variants now. Rice is great for your health if you choose the right rice variant, eat the right amount and live an active life. We have lost all our indigenous rice variants and moved to the polished white rice and have invited all lifestyle diseases to our doorstep. The best alternate is moving to millets and traditional rice variants as much as possible. Poongar is a traditional red rice variety from TamilNadu. The crop can withstand floods and also doesn’t need much water.

Recipes:(Please click on the names for detailed recipes)

Kozhukkattai

Idly/dosa

Idiyappam

Appam , Paniyaram, Aapam

Navara Rice

Navara or Njavara rice is a traditional medicinal value-rich rice from God’s own country. This rice is a boon for diabetes. All traditional rice recipes which were written so far by me were curated to help people bring them into daily use. All of these rice variants were used in gruels and cooked and eaten as such. But with the lifestyle we have come today we need a way to make incorporation of these nutrient-rich rice variants into our daily routines

Recipes:(Please click on the names for detailed recipes)

Kozhukkattai

Kanji Mix/Sathumaavu

Open cook the rice & have with gravies.

Overnight fermented kanji.

Kaatuyanam rice

The rice variety is from TamilNadu and it is one of the traditional red rice variants. The name signifies two things – The crop grows so huge that an elephant can hide behind it and eating this rice gives your the strength of an elephant. Yaanam/Yaanai is an elephant in Tamil. The crop can grow in any climate and even in driest conditions. It is blackish-red in colour. Naturally, this rice doesn’t need much maintenance during the growth period.

Recipes: (Please click on the names for detailed recipes)

Kozhukkattai

 

Idiyappam

Appam

Dosa

 

 

Kuruvikkar Rice

Health benefits:

• The rice is rich in iron, protein and fibre. It aids in losing the bad cholesterol and hence beneficial in tackling obesity.
• Primarily, the porridge (Overnight Fermented) was used by people who have been investing several hours of physical work.
• A natural energy booster that can help you recover from fatigue and build strength.
• The Kuruvikkar doesn’t get contaminated even when cooked and kept outside for a long time is what few references say and highly recommended for diabetic people and those who are finding it hard to shed extra pounds. The high fibre content and less digestible starch make you avoid unnecessary consumption of extra plates of unwanted food.

Recipes: (Please click on the names for detailed recipes)

Kozhukkattai

Idiyappam

Idly

Dosa

Aapam

Paniyaram

Rajamudi Rice:

Rajamudi rice is a traditional rice variety from Karnataka. This unpolished rice looks like a mix of brown and red colour. The history traces to the Wodeyars period of Mysore, approximately during 14 th century.

The dietary fibre in the rice makes it great for daily consumption.

The glycemic index of this rice is low and hence best suited for diabetic patients.

The antioxidants and the zinc present in this rice prevent the body from infections.

Rajamudi rice helps in lowering cholesterol and prevents heart diseases.

How can I use Rajamudi Rice?

Open cook this rice after soaking for 20 minutes and consume instead of regular rice.

Use this for your idly/dosa/chilla/adai batter.

(Please click on the image for detailed recipes)

What is the difference between Raw & Boiled Rice?

How to use native rice varieties every day? –

What is the best alternative for white rice which we use daily?

The white rice variants are highly polished and hence they lose all nutrients. However native rice variants like thooyamalli , garudan samba , thanga samba , kichili samba are 1 mm polished or hand pounded (depends on the variants you buy). The nutrients are intact, unlike the refined white polished rice which we get regularly in markets. You wouldn’t find any difference in taste. They are ideal for daily replacement in your lunch.

Open cooking all the red rice variants after a soaking period of 6-8 hours can also be the right replacement for white rice to accompany all kulambu varieties.

For all batters I found thanga samba to be a good replacement if you use boiled rice usually. If you use raw rice prefer illuppaipoo samba , salem channa .

Red rice variants like kalanamak , poongar , kaatuyanam , ottadaiyan ,  arubatham kuruvai , kuruvikkar , kullakkar, kuzhai adichan , kallundai samba go very well with your batter for idly , dosa , aapam.

Idiyappam tastes amazing with poongar and kaatuyanam..

Where to buy Traditional Native Rice Varieties and Organic Groceries?

Place your orders through this link and grab offers and discounts.

https://bit.ly/2Qzf8VP

For delivery within Chennai use the above link and make orders.
For delivery outside Chennai, ping 9150155953.

Coupon code would be KITCHENKATHUKUTTY. You can get discounts for whatever items you purchase by clicking the above link /pinging this number and applying the coupon code. Please inform kitchenkathukutty referral and earn your discount ❤️

This is a special offer for kitchenkathukutty readers and well-wishers as a token of gratitude and to cultivate healthy eating habits. This is not my shop

Disclaimer:

I am not a qualified doctor/nutritionist/medical practitioner. The information is not equivalent to medical expert advice. The information is based on the reading and research I do. Thank you