Hand-pounded rice is superior to the fully polished rice in many ways. The bran is retained and because of hand-pounding process, the rice tastes so good. HP rice is high in fibre, proteins and selenium. The glycemic index is low as compared to polished rice, because of which it is quite filling.
A short story before we head to the recipe. My paternal grandfather used to own a paddy farm. When I was 8-9 years old, I used to accompany him every year to bring back sacks of harvested paddy grains. What excited me about this trip was the bullock-cart ride that carried huge brown sacks of the grains, along with us. The sacks were neatly stashed in the "arisi mootai" room (room of rice sacks) that used to be our favorite hiding spot when we play hide-and-seek.
The paddy grains from older sacks were hand-pounded on a need basis and used for cooking. The rice never used to be as "white" as what we get these days.
My grandfather was active and energetic till his 80s. Traditional food habits, being physically active and mentally strong - the practices that we have lost completely which are now resulting in all forms of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, high BP, high cholesterol, arthritis, obesity, depression etc.
"EthnicPalate" is my small contribution in this world to bring back traditional food habits. I've been sharing many millets-based recipes in this blog. Let me share a quick recipe on how to cook this nutritious hand-pounded rice. I used the HP rice from a brand called ...