Basmati rice
Oryza sativa 'Basmati' · Grain
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Basmati is the long, exceptionally slender aromatic rice of the Himalayan foothills of India and Pakistan, prized above all for two traits: a warm, perfumed popcorn-and-pandan fragrance and grains that elongate to nearly twice their length on cooking while staying separate, dry and fluffy rather than sticky. It is the rice of biryani, pulao and the classic accompaniment to North Indian and Pakistani food.
Picking a good onedrag
Sound dry grain, fragrant or cleanly neutralRancid crayon, or holed and webbed
Pantry standardEveryday bestRice takes up arsenic you can't see. Rinse it, cook it in plenty of water, then drain.
Smell at the open bagAlmost nothing, as white rice is
White or brown, whole or milledBrown, red or black: buy small
The grains themselvesA few chalky grains, broken tips
A handful through your fingersA little starchy powder, normal
These cues are Rice's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.