Exploring rice varieties is a task that you won’t be able to exhaust quickly. After all, there’s more to brown rice than white, brown, red, black, short-grain, long-grain, and glutinous rice.
There is also rice like masoori rice, which is known for its unique characteristic, and you might be wondering what masoori rice is. I looked into it, and here’s what I found!
What Is Masoori Rice?
Masoori rice, which is also called Sonamasuri, is a combination of two rice variants, Sona and Mahsuri. Additionally, Masoori rice is cultivated in Karnataka and Andra Pradesh in India and is an important ingredient in South Indian Cuisine. Moreover, Masoori rice is medium-grain rice. While Masoori isn’t as fragrant as Basmati, Masoori’s grains separate just as easily.
In case you’re interested to learn more about the origins of masoori rice and what distinguishes masoori rice from other rice variants, keep reading!
What Is Sona Masoori Rice In Tamil?
Sona Masoori is called Puzhungal Arisi in Tamil.
What Is Crystal Sona Masoori Rice?
Crystal Sona Masoori rice is a type of Sona Masoori rice that is grown through hybrid seeds. Additionally, Crystal Sona Masoori rice is cultivated under strict supervision.
Generally, Crystal Sona Masoori rice is believed to be better than generic Sona Masoori rice.
What Is Steam Sona Masoori Rice?
Sona Masoori Steamed Rice is unpolished rice is known for its great taste, low glycemic index, and low carbohydrate content.
Moreover, Sona Masoori steamed rice is designed specifically to cater to diabetic patients.
Furthermore, Sona Masoori Steamed Rice is prepared by steaming the unpolished rice directly along with the paddy.
What Is Raw Sona Masoori Rice?
Sona Masoori comes in two formats, namely raw and boiled. Raw Sona Masoori rice simply refers to dry, uncooked grains, which is the format most white rice comes in.
Usually, raw Sona Masoori rice is available in Bangalore and Hyderabad and is stored in most stores.
What Is Brown Sona Masoori Rice?
Sona Masoori brown rice is a type of Sona Masoori rice that is cultivated in the Southern regions of India.
Like other brown rice, Sona Masoori brown rice has an earthy aroma and a nutty flavor. Additionally, Sona Masoori brown rice can be used to prepare many Indian dishes.
What Is Hand-Pounded Sona Masoori Rice?
Hand-pounded Sona Masoori rice is simply Sona Masoori rice that has been dehusked using a stone grinder or any stone apparatus that functions like a mortar and pestle.
After the grinding process is the winnowing, which preserves the bran and reduces the degree of polishing the grains undergo.
What Is The GI Of Sona Masoori Rice?
Sona Masoori rice has a glycemic index of fifty-one. Compared to white rice and certain varieties of brown and red rice, Sona Masoori rice has a significantly lower glycemic index.
Additionally, Sona Masoori typically shares the same glycemic index as most Basmati rice and steamed brown rice.
What Is Special About Sona Masoori Rice?
Sona Masoori rice has a low starch content. Additionally, most Sona Masoori rice is unpolished or just semi-polished, therefore making it healthier than regular white rice.
Furthermore, Sona Masoori is the preferred rice for a lot of popular Indian dishes like idlis and biryani.
In Southern India, Sona Masoori is considered better than Basmati rice in terms of taste and nutritional value.
What Is The Use Of Sona Masoori Rice?
Sona Masoori rice can be used as a daily rice substitute for diabetics and people who need to manage their weight.
Additionally, Sona Masoori rice is the rice of choice when making fried rice, idli, sweet Pongal, and biryani.
With Sona Masoori’s starchy and flavorful profile, Sona Masoori can easily be used to enhance everyday rice-based dishes that include meat and vegetables.
What Is The Difference Between Masoori And Basmati Rice?
There are plenty of differences between Sona Masoori and Basmati rice. Primarily, these differences are with regards to their appearance and taste.
Basmati rice is known for having long grains and being easy to separate once cooked. Meanwhile, Sona Masoori is starchy medium-grain rice.
On the palate, Sona Masoori has a richer and starchier flavor whereas Basmati has a combination of nutty and floral tastes.
As per their aroma, Basmati gives off a stronger and more pleasant scent. While Sona Masoori is also fragrant, it is less obvious compared to Basmati.
What Is The Difference Between Raw Rice And Sona Masoori Rice?
Sona Masoori rice is often sold in parboiled format, making Sona Masoori rice easier to cook than raw rice.
Additionally, parboiled Sona Masoori does not need to be pre-soaked or rinsed before cooking. In comparison, soaking and rinsing are integral in cooking raw rice thoroughly.
What Is The Difference Between HMT Rice And Sona Masoori?
HMT is a rice variety that has thinner grains than Sona Masoori. Additionally, HMT is white rice and doesn’t have brown variants. In contrast, Sona Masoori is also sold in brown format.
Moreover, Sona Masoori is cultivated mostly in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, while HMT is grown mainly in Telangana.
Nonetheless, HMT has also been cultivated in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, too.
Which Is Better Ponni Or Sona Masoori?
Whether Ponni is better than Sona Masoori or vice versa depends largely on your preferences and how Ponni and Sona Masoori are prepared.
Generally, however, Sona Masoori is more fragrant than Ponni. Additionally, Sona Masoori has a richer and more nuanced flavor.
Meanwhile, Ponni doesn’t have any distinguishable aroma and is mostly bland on the palate.
Is Sona Masoori Rice Glutinous?
Sona Masoori rice is medium-grain rice, therefore Sona Masoori often doesn’t turn out sticky when cooked. Additionally, Sona Masoori doesn’t have a glutinous rice format.
Does Sona Masoori Rice Need To Be Soaked?
Whether or not Sona Masoori rice needs to be soaked depends on the format you’re using. If the Sona Masoori rice is raw, then soaking will help speed up the cooking process.
However, if the Sona Masoori rice is parboiled, there is no need to soak the rice at all.
Take a look at our related articles to find out what Young Chow fried rice is, what Basmati rice is, and what black rice is.
Conclusion
Sona Masoori Rice is a combination of Sona and Masoori, two rice variants that are grown in India. Consequently, Sona Masoori has a mildly fragrant aroma and a starchy flavor.
Given Sona Masoori’s nutritional value and low glycemic index, Sona Masoori is considered one of the healthiest rice variants in India.
Moreover, Sona Masoori is used to make a wide array of traditional Indian dishes and is often preferred over Basmati rice.