Binni Chal

Come to my home, say the poets and the bards of undivided Bengal, I will give you parched and beaten Shali paddy chira and puffed Binni khoi. Binni is one of the few sticky rice varieties that grow in the Indian subcontinent. It was a popular rice in the past and apart from Chittagong Hilly tracts (CHTs) and other hilly regions including of Bangladesh and Tripura in North Eastern part of India, it was extensively cultivated in many areas such as the Varendrabhumi or the Northern Bengal, Gajipur, many places in Tangail, Netrakona, Sylhette, Natore. The indigenous tribes of these areas, namely the Chakma, Garo, Hajong, Sangma, Dangri, Manda cultivate it in groups following the ‘jum method’. Presently in a drive to revive some of the landraces few farmers are cultivating it in the hilly areas of Northern Bengal.

Scroll down to read the poems that speak of this rice.

Categories: West Bengal, White Rice Tags: binni, khoi, sticky rice, undivided Bengal, West Bengal

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THE CULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL LIFE OF THIS RICE

আম কাঁঠালের বাগান দেব ছায়ায় ছায়ায় যেতে,
উড়কি ধানের মুড়কি দেব পথে বসে খেতে ।
শালি ধানের চিঁড়ে দেব বিন্নি ধানের খই,
মোটা মোটা শবরী কলা গামছা বাঁধা দই ।।

Āma kām̐ṭhālēra bāgāna dēba chāẏāẏa chāẏāẏa yētē,
uṛaki dhānēra muṛaki dēba pathē basē khētē.
Śāli dhānēra cim̐ṛē dēba binni dhānēra kha’i,
mōṭā mōṭā śabarī kalā gāmachā bām̐dhā da’i.

I’ll give you orchards of mango and jackfruit to walk in their shade,
A fistful of sweet, fragrant murki made from Urki paddy to munch on your way
Shali paddy parched, Binni paddy puffed,
Nice, plump Shabari bananas, and thick yoghurt tied in a washcloth.

আমার বাড়ি যাইও বন্ধু বসতে দিব পিড়া
জলপান করিতে দেব শাইলি ধানের চিড়া
শাইলি ধানের চিড়া দেব বিন্নি ধানের খই।।

Āmāra bāṛi yā’i’ō bandhu basatē diba piṛā jalapāna karitē dēba śā’ili dhānēra ciṛā śā’ili dhānēra ciṛā dēba binni dhānēra kha’i.

Come to my house, friend, I will give you a handmade wooden seat to sit, and treat you with chira made of best local shali rice, and khoi made of the special binni variety.

From Palli Kabi [pastoral poet] Jasimuddin’s renowned poem “Amar Bari” (My Home) to various folk tales, lullabies and proverbs, Shali dhaner chira and Binni Dhaner Khoi [beaten rice made from winter rice and popped rice from Binni] have always symbolised the highest standard of serving a guest.

But look around and you will find that Binni is more vividly imprinted in our collective memory than it is alive in the actual fields. In those simpler times, in undivided Bengal the milky white, almost melt in the mouth popped rice made from Binni was considered an ultimate indulgence especially when paired with ‘Lal Batasa’ (Sugar candy made from date palm jaggery).Traditionally and culturally, this is a very important rice for the people of undivided Bengal which included not only the Bengali speaking communities living in the hilly areas of Bengal before 1947 (Hill tracts of Chittagong and Tipperah or present day Tripura) but also all the tribal communities living in that land. Without this paddy no marriage proposal is accepted in tribal society. It is part of all their auspicious customs: marriage proposals are given with this rice, the straw is an important part of their sustainable lifestyle used to thatch the roofs of their bamboo homes, and also fodder for domestic animals during winter months.

Binni is a short grain, opaque, lightly aromatic, chalky white rice with speckles of red brans all over it. The cooked rice is very sticky for which it wasn’t much popular in mainland Bengal as table rice. While most indigenous communities of ‘Chittagong’ hill tracts enjoyed it as daily staple, the people in the plains mostly used it to prepare sweet treats such as pitha (rice cakes), payes (Kheer) and khoi.

W.W. Hunter, in his Statistical Account of Bengal (1876), lists it with five other varieties sown in April and Reaped in October. In most of these areas rice, Binni is cultivated by the tribes following the shifting cultivation or ‘Jum’ method. In this, cultivable land is created by felling trees on some slopy part of the hill and later by burning those dried trees. Since these plots regenerate naturally, these communities believe that applying organic methods to such land produces the best-tasting food.

Binni comes in many varieties and three main colours: white, black and red. For one particular variety known as Tripura Binni or ‘Guria’ rice, a GI-tag application has been registered in 2024.This amon [kharif] variety takes around 135 days to mature and is harvested in the month of October. The plants are tall with purplish brown spikelets and comparatively weaker stems. One peculiar thing about this cultivar is that even when the plants are completely lodged, which is a general problem for most taller indica rice varieties, Binny panicles remain erect. The indigenous community still follows the organic method for cultivating this landrace.

As mentioned earlier the khoi or popped rice made from this paddy is the most famous variety of ‘khoi’ in Bengal. So much so that an entire village called ‘Dashergaon’ in Kishorgunj area of Bangladesh engaje themselves in making this specific khoi during winter months. While khoi is a popular snack and a key ingredient in making various types of laddus during the season, it also plays a crucial role in the handloom industry of Bengal. The starch derived from this khoi is used to give body and stregth to the yarns and to polish the famous cotton Jamdani weaves, especially the Dhakai Jamdani sarees on both sides of Bengal.

Binni has many names! Biroin chal, Birun chal, Birni, Pora Binni (black binni variety). This rice has many varieties (ecotypes, possibly) each named uniquely: Geng geng binni, mou binni, dudh binni, lokkhi binni, Chandan binni, Binni merang, Biral binni, Harina Binni and so on.

NUTRITIONAL AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

The taste of cooked Binni rice is sweet and tasty and since it is mostly consumed raw and umnilled, it retains the bran and the nutritional value.
The indigenous community also believes that it has medicinal properties and prefers to consume it during episodes of dysentery.

CULINARY USES

Binni is cultivated for its taste and for the aromatic and tasty popped rice it makes. Binni Dhaner khoi is a very popular, easily digestible snack for Bengalis. The preparation of this snack is very unique too. For other rice varieties, unhusked rice is popped in hot sand but for Binni the rice is husked, soaked and using its glutinous characteristic it is popped in very hot sand.
The sticky rice is often prepared following the steaming technique to pair with spicy curries.
Bangui or Awan Bangui is a very famous savoury rice cake that is cooked within a banana leaf cone in Tripura that both the immigrant Bengali community and the indigenous community enjoy with a spicy chicken salad. This dish is very similar to North East Asian famous dish Zongzi (China) or Khao Tom Moo (Thailand).
During the Harvest festival in winter various sorts of pithas are made from it. Because of its sticky nature the pithas stay soft for even after they cool down. ‘Atikka pitha’ or a sweet rice parcel made of rice, ripe banana, coconut and jeggery is popular among the people who migrated to India from Bangladesh.
Additionally, Binni Chaler Patisapta is distinctive in its preparation process. Unlike other rice varieties, where a thin rice paste is used to make the crepes, Binni is soaked, ground and sprinkled over hot tawa to create a slightly dryish crepe.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING