I usually write about ingredients that are easily found at local grocery stores. But this time, I’m making an exception to write about an unusual pantry staple that’s worth tracking down. What is it? Smoked basmati rice, grown in the Himalaya Mountains. It’s been called the Cadillac of rice and I definitely agree.
How did I learn about it? A couple of years ago, I was shopping at Barbur World Foods, a specialty store in Portland that sells Indo-European foods (that’s a fancy way of saying European and Middle Eastern). I can’t remember how exactly I stumbled across this rice. Maybe a shopkeeper pointed it out, or perhaps another customer did. Regardless, I splurged for a ten pound bag and lugged it home.
My senses lit up and filled with delight when I cooked my first pot. A heavenly smoky aroma escaped from the bag the moment I opened it and when it bubbled away on the stove, the intense, complex scent filled every corner of the kitchen. This rice was unlike any other rice I had ever eaten. The texture was slightly chewy, yet tender. The grains were long and plump and some stuck together in little clumps which felt good when I chewed them. It was fluffy yet substantial, earthy with a quiet sweetness. This rice tasted happy! In my imagination, I saw the rice growing on hillsides beneath majestic snow-capped peaks. I remember standing at the stove and eating it straight from the pot, not wanting to stop, like it was satisfying some weird craving.
It didn’t take long to use up that ten-pound bag because I gave a lot of it to friends. One time I ran out for a few months and my pantry felt like a piano with a flat middle C.
I was curious about this rice so I read up on it. The rice is grown on hand-cut terraces carved into the steep Himalayan hills. The terraces create shallow paddies that follow the contours of the land. Irrigation is gravity fed from mineral-rich snow melt and mountain streams that flow from one terrace to the next. Nothing is large scale; fields are small, irregular and intimate. The rice grows slowly which concentrates the flavors, a huge contrast to the high-yield lowland rice that is pushed to hurry up and grow.
The brand I buy is Khazana, available on-line and surprisingly affordable. I store mine in a half-gallon mason jar. If your container is 100% airtight, it will easily last a year. Sometimes, I make a big batch and freeze it in quart Ziploc bags. Once you try this humble yet regal pantry ingredient, you may never want to run out.