Parboiled rice and raw rice – Benefits and Uses.

This article elaborates on how to choose a perfect rice for

Idli, dosa and appam.

Choosing a rice that is best suitable for making south indian breakfast menu can be a lot tricky. Everything starts with the rice. The better you choose the rice,  the best output you receive. Why is this so particular while choosing rice for idli , dosa and appam?

Because unlike any other dishes these idli, dosa and appam need a batter that is fresh and perfectly fermented. Otherwise the food on plate is sure to disappoint you. If you master in this then you will be the one to serve one of the best nutritious dish to anyone.

You may have heard of the common variety of rice namely, basmati rice, kolam rice, parboiled rice and raw rice. Out of this basmati and kolam are mainly used for cooking. These rice can never be useful in making idli, dosa or appam.

Parboiled rice is nothing but a rice that is partially boiled while it is still inside its husk. This gives it a slightly yellow colour. Parboiled rice is easy to cook because it is less sticky compared to raw rice. Parboiled rice is very popular throughout south india. Mainly people from south feel their appetite is full only after they have had the meal that consists of parboiled rice. In tamilnadu we call the parboiled rice as Puzhungal arisi and raw rice as paccha arisi.

I have elaborated an article on the health and nutritional benefits of some of the top south indian breakfast recipes. Please click over this link to view the entire post. 

Starting from clockwise direction:

1. Kolam rice – Regular cooking rice commonly observed throughout India.
2. Idli rice – Parboiled rice or Puzhungal  arisi in Tamilnadu.
3. Basmati rice – Fragrant rice mainly used for biryanis or chinese style rice dishes.
4. Raw rice – Can be used for both Dosa and Appam recipe. commonly called as Patni rice throughout India. commonly called as Pacchai arisi in Tamil nadu

Idli rice:

Idli rice looks a bit fat, roundish and often in yellow or light orange tone due to the fact that they are steamed with the rice husk. So it is easy to choose on this rice. You can check the quality of this rice by cooking a handful of rice. If it gives you a bad sour-ish smell then chances are that your Idli might also release the same taste while eating. You can try to choose a good quality Idli rice by its colour and smell.
Another tip to achieve a white Idli is that wash the rice atleast till you see the water being in transparent colour. Add a tablespoon of sago pearls while leaving it to soak. This adds the fluffy texture to your steamed idlis. The same batter can be used to make dosa thereby diluting it to a flowing consistency by adding water.
Idli rice are not sticky due to the nature of parboiled rice. sticky rice spoils the idli in many ways like it would’nt rise properly, would not leave the idli plate properly, they may be very sticky while eating. It can also turn the idli hard while steaming.

Appam rice:

There may be many different option and varieties of rice available in South India for this particular dish. But the most commonly used rice i have seen is Patni rice. It is one of the best rice variety for making appam or dosa. This rice is purely white in colour and is raw rice. Meaning it is not steamed and just taken out of the husk and left to sun dry.
Appam and dosa are often a bit sticky and they taste good when so. As such raw rice has that quality of stickiness and helps this dish turn to as desired.

South Indian breakfast is something a lot of Indians crave for. Due to the long process and to understand the simplest measures to be taken, one often fail to prepare the south indian breakfast recipes.

Initially until i got married i always used to think that i can never achieve making a perfect idli, dosa or appam in my life or just like how my mom used to make one. later with lots of trial and error method 3 years after my marriage i learnt how to expertise in it.
If it was not for my daughter’s love for idli, i would’nt have been able to write this article today. She made me excel in making south indian breakfast recipes, because she loves it as much.

Below are few video links that i have tried to share with you:

1. How to make a perfect batter for Idli and achieve soft and fluffy idli.

(Click here to read the detailed written recipe)

 

2. How to make Appam without adding cooked rice, grated coconut, poha or yeast.
(Click here to read the detailed written recipe)

 

Have a good day.
Share your comments/queries. I will be glad to hear.