Pal thondi is a drought-tolerant, short-duration crop of the kuni vayal or the gentle hillside slopes that meet the flat low lands below. It is a rice traditionally cultivated by Kurichiya tribal farmers in Wayanad, and its name likely owes to a favored use of this rice to prepare breakfast rice gruels–the soft cooking quality turns the cooking liquid white and creamy, just like milk.
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Description
THE CULTURAL & ECOLOGICAL LIFE OF THIS RICE
Thondi is a group of “mota” rices in Kerala with medium-sized plump grains cultivated by Kurichiya tribal farmers in Wayanad, and among them, paal thondi is the best non-aromatic white raw rice used in Wayanad. Although the rice looks small, the paddy stalks are tall compared to most other rice. Another notable aspect of this rice is the bran, which is green in color before milling.
Gopi and Manjula have reported on how Kurichiya tribal farmers in Wayanad developed a system of classifying paddy fields, based on their soil texture, mud content, percolation and retention of water, fertility of land, and field location. Such mechanisms “helped in the efficient utilization of natural and human resources and thereby evolved management practices in favour of diverse landraces suitable for the land types they hold.”
Pal thondi is a kunivayal crop: “Kunivayal is the gentle slope on the foothills that meets flat low land. This Vayal type contains more soil with less mud content, has low water holding capacity and very rarely experience water logging. Cultivation is chiefly under rain fed condition, which may be supplemented with ash and cow dung, with only one crop being raised during Nancha season between May/June to November/December.” [See Gopi 2004’s vayal or classification, and Gopi and Manjula 2018]
NUTRITIONAL AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
- Starchy, sweet and energy-giving.
- No other medicinal properties are known.
CULINARY USES
- Kurichiya tribes in Wayanad prefer varieties like pal veliyan and pal thondi for making rice gruels and kanjis and breakfast dishes, this being a variety that cooks quickly and becomes soft and mushy.
- Can be consumed as an everyday boiled rice/ table rice. Be sure to cook it with just enough water or it will become much too soft.
- Will probably be a good rice for fermentation, because of its softness and starch-releasing speed.
WHO GROWS THIS RICE & WHERE CAN I BUY?
The sources that will likely have the best Pal Thondi:
- Thirunelly Agri Producer Company/ Tapco [a farmer producer organization in Wayanad, Kerala]
- Other Possible Sources
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
- Gopi, Girigan, N. Anil Kumar* and V. Arivudai Nambi. 2004. “Vayals: a traditional classification of agricultural landscapes in Kerala.” LEISA India. December 2004.
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Gopi, Girigan, and M. Manjula. “Speciality Rice Biodiversity of Kerala: Need for Incentivising Conservation in the Era of Changing Climate.” Current Science, vol. 114, no. 5, 2018, pp. 997–1006. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26495193. Accessed 20 Aug. 2024.
Additional information
| Region of Origin | South |
|---|---|
| Grain Shape | medium |
| Grain Colour | White |
| Fragrance | Nonscented |
