Rice varieties: basmati, sona masoori and the rest
Rice is not one ingredient. Using basmati where sona masoori belongs is like using risotto rice for a pilaf — it works, but nobody who grew up with it would recognise the result.
Long, slender, aromatic; the grains stay separate. For biryani, pulao and anything where each grain should be distinct. Aged basmati costs more and cooks better. Rinse, then soak 20–30 minutes.
Shorter, lighter, softer. The everyday rice of much of south India — the one you want under sambar and rasam, where the rice should absorb rather than stand apart.
Par-boiled short grain, bought specifically for grinding with urad dal into batter. Not a table rice.
Not rices to boil but rice already processed — flattened for breakfast poha, puffed for bhel and chaat.
Cooking it the way it's cooked at home
- Rinse until the water runs clear. Not optional — surface starch is why rice turns gluey.
- Soaking matters most for basmati; it lets the grain lengthen instead of breaking.
- Absorption or draining? Both are traditional. Northern homes tend to use measured water; many southern and Sri Lankan homes boil in plenty of water and drain — which also removes some starch.
- Rest it. Ten minutes off the heat, lid on, before fluffing with a fork rather than a spoon.
Customs differ by region, community and family — where sources or practice genuinely disagree, this page says so rather than presenting one version as the rule.
Last updated: 2026-08-11
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