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Purono Chaal Bhaat-e bare

26 October, 2021

There is an old saying in the Bengali language which goes like “Purono chaal bhaat-e bare” which basically signifies the triumph of experience in life under difficult circumstances. Be that as it may, the proverb really incites curiosity about its feasibility in the practical sense. So without further ado let’s just delve into the business of taking a closer look at the process of parboiling and its effect on cooked rice.

What is parboiling of rice?
Parboiling is the process of partially cooking the grains of rice before it is milled or the inedible outer husk is removed. Parboiling is an ancient practice in many cultures around the world and is a great way to enhance the texture, health benefits, and storage of rice. Parboiled rice or converted rice appears transparent and light yellow in color.

Steps of parboiling
Parboiling comprises of three distinct stages namely:
1) Soaking- The stage where freshly harvested and unmilled rice grains are soaked in warm water to increase their moisture content.
2) Steaming- This is the most important phase where the rice is steamed to convert the starch into a gel-like substance.
3) Drying- This is the final step of the parboiling process where the previously steamed rice is slowly dried to reduce the moisture content. Drying makes the process of milling of the rice grains much easier.

Parboiling and its effect on the quantity of cooked rice
While cooking parboiled rice, water gets absorbed by the grains and the heat softens the starch present in rice which causes it to expand in volume. In theory, boiling 1 cup of parboiled rice in 2-2.5 cups of water may produce 3-4 cups of cooked rice. It has however been observed that parboiled rice kept on the shelf for too long has a tendency to absorb and retain a greater quantity of water thereby causing the volume of cooked rice to get increased a bit more than under normal circumstances.

Nutrition
Pragati rice is a master at the production of perfectly parboiled rice that provides immense nutrition when consumed daily. The process of parboiling at Pragati is highly regulated and administered for the water-soluble nutrients present in rice grains to migrate from the bran of the kernel to the starch-rich endosperm. This dials down the loss of nutrients that generally takes place during refining when cooking rice. So selecting from the range of Pragati parboiled rice products is a great way to add an extra dosage of nutrition to the daily meal.

Upsides to parboiling
Consumption of parboiled rice has various benefits associated with its effects on health, cooking process, and storage. The most prominent of them are:
• The significant reduction of the starch content of rice during parboiling yields less sticky, fluffy, and separated rice when cooked.
• Parboiling prevents rice from going rancid thus increasing its shelf life exponentially.
• Consumption of parboiled rice is great for gut health. This is because the fermentation of parboiled rice in the small intestine leads to the formation of probiotics.
• Parboiled rice prevents the elevation of blood sugar levels owing to its greater protein content and resistant starch.