Category Archives: Rice

India’s ban on rice exports raises fear of global food price rises

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Attempt to curb domestic inflation behind country’s decision on non-basmati white rice

India has banned non-basmati white rice exports to curb domestic inflation, raising fears of further increases in global food prices just days after wheat and corn prices were sent climbing by Russia’s termination of a key grain deal.

The immediate ban, introduced after heavy rains hit domestic crops, follows the failure of a 20% duty on international exports introduced in September to curb foreign demand, which has soared after extreme climate conditions hit production in countries.

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‘Bread is much easier’: how Japan fell out of love with rice

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The traditional staple is losing the battle with more convenient and cheaper alternative foods

The Dojima branch of Yoshinoya in Osaka is doing a roaring lunchtime trade. As soon as one diner vacates their counter seat, another takes their place, while staff take just seconds to assemble the next order of the restaurant’s trademark dish: gyūdon.

The Observer has joined the rush, ordering a set lunch of seasoned beef and onion on rice, and side dishes of pickled cabbage and miso soup – all for a extremely affordable ¥632 (£3.46).

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Burning issue: how enzymes could end India’s problem with stubble

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Bans failed to stop farmers torching fields each year but a new spray that turns stalks into fertiliser helps the soil and the air

Every autumn, Anil Kalyan, from Kutail village in India’s northern state of Haryana, would join tens of thousands of other paddy farmers to set fire to the leftover stalks after the rice harvest to clear the field for planting wheat.

But this year, Kalyan opted for change. He signed his land up for a trial being held in Haryana and neighbouring Punjab as an alternative to the environmentally hazardous stubble burning that is commonplace across India and a major cause of Delhi’s notorious smog.

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Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for sweet potato mochi with black sesame sauce | The new vegan

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Rice flour and sweet potato make chewy-crunchy cakes to coat with a salty-sour sesame dip

When I think of food that “sparks joy”, to borrow the phrase of a well-known house organiser, I don’t think of multicoloured cakes or the smoke and dance of Mexican restaurant sizzlers. It’s the fun, playful chewiness of the Japanese glutinous flour rice cakes called mochi that I want. Often they’re sweet, filled with adzuki beans or peanuts, but they can also be savoury, as in today’s recipe. Here, they are fried like pancakes to give them a toasty, crisp exterior before being coated in a deeply flavourful and dark sesame sauce.

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The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats

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Ángel León made his name serving innovative seafood. But then he discovered something in the seagrass that could transform our understanding of the sea itself – as a vast garden

Growing up in southern Spain, Ángel León paid little attention to the meadows of seagrass that fringed the turquoise waters near his home, their slender blades grazing him as he swam in the Bay of Cádiz.

It was only decades later – as he was fast becoming known as one of the country’s most innovative chefs – that he noticed something he had missed in previous encounters with Zostera marina: a clutch of tiny green grains clinging to the base of the eelgrass.

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Does your pantry need a spring clean?

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Time for a clearout: use up leftover fridge-lurkers, pulses and grains with recipes you haven’t tried before

Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

What’s the secret to clearing out your food cupboards and getting inspired about cooking again?
Ben, Exeter

With spring here – picnics! People! Pubs! – it’s time to blow away the cobwebs of the past 12 months and start afresh. And the best way to give those cupboards a clearout is, of course, with a handful of recipes.

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Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for Valentine’s Day

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A three-course showpiece to prep in advance, so you can spend more time with your better half: burnt aubergine with feta and harissa oil, prawns in vanilla and rum butter, and a chocolatey coffee mousse to finish

This time last year, many of us were looking forward to a special, one-to-one supper with a loved one. The partner we live with, for example, but perhaps forget to go on dates with; a special meal, quality time, stories saved up to be shared. The past year has, of course, brought a whole new meaning to the idea of “quality time”, and I’m not sure anyone has any great stories they’ve saved for this Valentine’s dinner. Be kind and cut yourself some slack: forget about the top new chat and focus instead on a top new meal. Pat yourself on the back for making it this far, and raise a large glass of something you adore.

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Chicken pulao and an orange and piquillo pepper salad: Nik Sharma’s Christmas recipes

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The perfect combination: spicy chicken jewelled with cranberries and cashews, and a sharp fruity side

The simplicity and elegance of pulaos combined with their ability to moonlight as a one-pot meal stole my heart long ago. Pulaos saved my mother and grandmother hours in the kitchen; they’d make a large pot and all that was needed was a salad or pickle on the side. I’m keeping that principle in mind with this winter-themed chicken pulao, jewelled with cranberries and cashews, alongside an orange and piquillo pepper salad. You can serve the meal with a bowl of salted plain yoghurt.

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Block on GM rice ‘has cost millions of lives and led to child blindness’

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Eco groups and global treaty blamed for delay in supply of vitamin-A enriched Golden Rice

Stifling international regulations have been blamed for delaying the approval of a food that could have helped save millions of lives this century. The claim is made in a new investigation of the controversy surrounding the development of Golden Rice by a team of international scientists.

Golden Rice is a form of normal white rice that has been genetically modified to provide vitamin A to counter blindness and other diseases in children in the developing world. It was developed two decades ago but is still struggling to gain approval in most nations.

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The miracle method for sustainable rice that scientists dismissed | John Vidal

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A technique developed by a Jesuit priest is producing bigger harvests – and reducing emissions of a crop responsible for 1.5% of greenhouse gases

The fragrant jasmine rice growing on the left side of Kreaougkra Junpeng’s five-acre field stands nearly five feet tall.

Each plant has 15 or more tillers, or stalks, and the grains hang heavy from them. The Thai farmer says this will be his best-ever harvest in 30 years and he will reap it four weeks earlier than usual.

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