Uses: Basmati rice is traditionally used in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes and often used for cooking biryani, pulao, etc. However, of late, it has become the ultimate rice choice of modern day food connoisseurs around the world.
Basmati is available in white or brown varieties, depending on the extent of the milling process. To produce white rice, the bran layers of the rice are milled off.
How to recognise: A basmati rice grain is shaped like a sword and post cooking, each grain elongates at least twice that of its original size.
The rich aroma is another way by which one can recognise basmati rice. The flavour of basmati rice is caused by the aroma compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which is at about 90 parts per billion. That's about 12 times more than in any other rice!
Benefits: Basmati rice has a "medium" glycemic index (between 56 and 69), thus making it more suitable for diabetics as compared to other rice grains.