POV: date=January 2009

Basmati ( , , , ) is a variety of long grain rice, notable for its fragrance and delicate, nuanced flavour. Its name means "the fragrant one" in Sanskrit, but it can also mean "the soft rice." Pakistan and India are the largest cultivators and exporters of this rice; it is primarily grown through paddy field farming in the Punjab region.

The grains of basmati rice are longer than most other types of rice. Cooked grains of Basmati rice are characteristically free flowing rather than sticky, as with most long-grain rice. Cooked basmati rice can be uniquely identified by its fragrance. Basmati rice is available in two varieties - white and brown.

Flavour

Basmati rice has a typical pandan-like (Pandanus amaryllifolius leaf) flavour caused by the aroma compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline .

Varieties and hybrids

A number of varieties of basmati rice exist. Traditional types include Basmati-370, Basmati-385 and Basmati-Ranbirsinghpura(R.S.Pura), while hybrid basmati varieties include Pusa Basmati 1 (also called 'Todal', because the flower has awns). Fragrant rices that are derived from basmati stock but are not considered true basmati varieties include PB2 (also called sugandh-2), PB3 and RH-10.

Scientists at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi took the traditional basmati and genetically modified it to produce a hybrid which had most of the good features of traditional basmati (grain elongation, fragrance, alkali content) and the plant was a semi-dwarf type. This basmati was called Pusa Basmati-1. PB1 crop yield is higher than the traditional varieties (up to twice as much).

List of approved varieties

Punjab, Kernel Basmati (Pakistan), Dehradun, Haryana, Super basmati, Kasturi(Baran,Rajasthan), Basmati 198, basmati 217, basmati 370, basmati 385, basmati 386, Bihar, Kasturi, Mahi Suganda, Pusa, Ranbir, Taraori.1 Some non-traditional aromatic crosses with basmati characteristics are marketed under a Sugandh designation.23

Detection of adulterated strains

Difficulty in differentiating genuine traditional basmati from pretenders and the significant price difference between them has led fraudulent traders to adulterate traditional basmati. To protect the interests of consumers and trade, a PCR-based assay similar to DNA fingerprinting in humans allows for the detection of adulterated and non-basmati strains. Its detection limit for adulteration is from 1% upwards with an error rate of ±1.5%. Exporters of basmati rice use 'purity certificates' based on DNA tests for their basmati rice consignments. See Protocol 4 and 5. Based on this protocol, which was developed at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Labindia, an Indian company has released kits to detect basmati adulteration. 6