Salaphula is a mildly aromatic white rice grown in the Northern parts of Odisha (especially in the district of Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Bhadrak), Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Grown in semi-deep water, this lowland rice is highly palatable and nutritious. The plants are relatively tall.
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Description
THE CULTURAL & ECOLOGICAL LIFE OF THIS RICE
Salaphula is a mildly aromatic white rice grown in the Northern and Western parts of Odisha (especially in the district of Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Bhadrak), Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. It has straw-colored husk.
The medium length, slender and white grains have a pleasant aroma and excellent taste. While it is consumed in its raw (sun-dried) from during festivals and special occasions, the paddy is subjected to parboiling to reduce breakage while processing it for selling.
It is prized for its medicinal properties and superior quality ‘pej.’
Other names for this rice: Sarai phool, Saraiphul
NUTRITIONAL AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
- Chaudhary et al., 2018 report that “sarai phool” is a medicinal rice used to alleviate weakness and nausea, and also that it is prescribed as a post-natal tonic for women in Odisha.
- The rice is cooked with excess water till it reaches a thin congee like consistency. A little salt is added and it is given to the patient suffering from weakness or even during recovery from illness
CULINARY USES
- The aged rice lends itself beautifully to pulao and table rice as it does not break easily.
- The cooked rice has a sublime aroma, firm texture and discrete slender grains that have an underlying sweetness to them.
- It is traditionally consumed during the festivals in Mayurbhanj and neighbouring areas, offered as bhog during Vaishnava festivals.
- The pej (excess water drained after cooked rice in open pan method) tastes especially good and is consumed by the communities that grow it.
WHO GROWS THIS RICE & WHERE CAN I BUY?
The sources that will likely have the best Salaphula/Saraiphool:
- It marketed by Adisha, an Odisha government initative and makes appearance at local tribal fairs.
- It is also available in Mission Shakti and Ormas outlets in Bhubaneswar.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
- Patra, BC and BC Marndi. Exploration, collection, conservation and characterisation of medicinal rice germplasm. Oryza Vol. 49. No. 4, 2012 (305-306)
- Chaudhari, Prabha R, Nishesh Tamrakar, Laxmi Singh, Ambika Tandon and Deepak Sharma. Rice nutritional and medicinal properties: A review article. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2018; 7(2): 150-156
- Rahman S, Sharma MP, Sahai S. Nutritional and medicinal value of some indigenous rice varieties. Indian J Traditional Knowledge. 2006;5(4):454–8
Additional information
| Region of Origin | East, North |
|---|---|
| Grain Shape | long slender |
| Grain Colour | White |
| Fragrance | Light aroma |
