Thaindian News

New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) India will promote the use of basmati rice in global dishes and non-traditional markets aimed to boost exports, a senior official said Wednesday.

“We are trying to expand the use of Basmati rice in International dishes,” said Arvind Kumar Gupta, advisor at the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority of India (APEDA).

Over 50 celebrity chefs and food critics from different countries, including US, Mexico, Britain, Italy and France, gathered here Tuesday-Wednesday for the “Basmati for the World” culinary conference organised by APEDA in association with All India Rice Exporters Association under the aegis of the ministry of commerce and industry.

Gupta said some chefs prepared fusion international food using Indian basmati rice.

“We export basmati rice to over 100 countries. It is mostly being used in Indian dishes and by Indians. Now we are promoting its use in dishes of other countries also,” Gupta told IANS.

Basmati rice is the single largest agricultural product exported from India, valued at around $2.5 billion. In the last fiscal, India exported nearly 2.2 million metric tonnes of basmati rice to 106 countries. The Middle East is the biggest market for Indian basmati rice.

“Our total production is nearly 4.5 million metric tonnes. Almost half of it is being exported,” said Gupta.

Master chefs from various countries who showcased their local re-invented dishes using basmati rice including Arancini, a Sicilian dish (fried rice balls) by Chef Matt Edmonds from London and Maki roll by Michelin-star chef Lionel Levy of the Une Table, au Sud restaurant of the French port city of Marseilles.

Flora Mikula of the Parisian restaurant, Auberge Flora, created basmati ice cream served with caramelised pineapple embellished with saffron. She replaced a French rice variety with Basmati for a gazpacho (cold vegetable soup) with paneer and black olives.

American chef David Felton, famous for his farm-to-table restaurant, Ninety Acres, has created a Basmati risotto with Brussels sprouts and butternut squash and paired the classical butter-poached Maine lobster with Basmati rice and Thai curry sauce. Edgar Navarro, a Mexican chef reinvented the tumbada, the traditional seafood rice dish of Veracruz, with Basmati rice.

In a bid to promote the use of basmati rice, a coffee table book was released during the event carrying detailed information on this unique Indian Rice, its essence and how it has been preserved over the centuries to modern days.