Basmati rice in English, Hindi and other Indian languages

Basmati rice in English is basmati, and the names in other Indian languages are built from basmati plus that language's word for rice: basmati chawal in Hindi, basmati tondool in Marathi, basmati choka in Gujarati, basmati chaul in Punjabi, basmati chowl in Bengali, basmati chaula in Odia, basmati akki in Kannada, basmati biyyam in Telugu and basmati arisi in Tamil. IFCT 2017 has no basmati-specific entry, so the table below is its pooled raw, milled rice entry (food code A015); it lists each language's word for rice, not a separate word for basmati. Where a language shows a dash, IFCT lists no word, and this page leaves those blanks as they are.

Source: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN) local-names list. — means no name recorded in the source.

The word basmati needs no translation, so basmati chawal in English is simply basmati rice. IFCT 2017's English food name for the entry below is 'Rice, raw, milled' — the pooled milled-rice entry, since IFCT records no basmati entry of its own. The botanical name is Oryza sativa, the species all these rices share.

Basmati rice meaning in Hindi is the same two-part answer: basmati chawal, where chawal is the Hindi word for rice in IFCT 2017. The two-part pattern repeats down the table, which is the honest picture — basmati is a variety of rice, and the languages name the rice, not the variety.

North India: basmati chawal in Hindi, basmati chaul in Punjabi

IFCT 2017 lists chawal for rice in Hindi, so basmati chawal is the Hindi name. Punjabi lists chaul, and basmati chaul follows the same pattern.

West India: basmati tondool in Marathi, basmati choka in Gujarati

IFCT 2017's Marathi word for rice is tondool and its Gujarati word is choka, giving basmati tondool and basmati choka.

East India: basmati chowl in Bengali, basmati chaula in Odia

IFCT lists chowl in Bengali and chaula in Odia for rice, so the grain is basmati chowl and basmati chaula. For Assamese it lists the phrase milat khunda chaul, its name for milled rice; no separate Assamese word for basmati is recorded.

South India: basmati akki in Kannada, basmati biyyam in Telugu, basmati arisi in Tamil

IFCT lists akki in Kannada, biyyam in Telugu and arisi in Tamil for rice, giving basmati akki, basmati biyyam and basmati arisi. IFCT lists no word in Malayalam, Urdu or Sanskrit, so no name is invented for them here.

• Basmati chawal: not a different rice. Chawal is the Hindi word for rice, so basmati chawal is basmati rice, and basmati chawal in English is the same two words.
• Normal white rice: the everyday grain basmati gets compared with. IFCT pools the two in one milled-rice entry, which is why the table above looks plain; the variety-level differences, from grain length to aroma, are on the difference between basmati rice and normal rice.
• Jasmine rice: a separate variety with its own name, not another word for basmati. IFCT 2017 has no jasmine entry, so the answer stops at the name.
• Brown basmati: a separate product from white basmati; how the two compare is set out on brown basmati vs white basmati.

COWBERRY's basmati is grown on the fertile, well-irrigated plains of Uttarakhand and Punjab, farmed organically and naturally aged until the grains reach their full fragrance and length, with the royal-grade pack as the extra-long-grain version of the same crop.

To cook the grain, the basmati rice water ratio page has the method, and a soft basmati rice khichdi puts it to work. For everything else about the grain, its nutrition and its benefits, the basmati hub is the home page.

What is basmati chawal?

Basmati chawal is Hindi for basmati rice: chawal is the Hindi word for rice, and basmati is the variety. The two-part name repeats across the region, from basmati akki in Kannada to basmati arisi in Tamil. In English, basmati chawal is basmati rice.

What is basmati rice?

Basmati is a long-grain, aromatic variety of rice (Oryza sativa). COWBERRY's is grown in Uttarakhand and Punjab and is described as having long grains, a delicate aroma and a fluffy texture. It is commonly cooked for biryani and pulao. The table above lists the word for rice in each Indian language IFCT 2017 covers.

Is basmati rice Indian rice?

COWBERRY's basmati is: it is grown in Uttarakhand and Punjab, in northern India, and the grain is naturally aged to develop its fragrance and length.

What is the difference between basmati rice and jasmine?

They are two different varieties, and jasmine is not another word for basmati. IFCT 2017 has no jasmine entry, so no nutrition or taste claims are made.

Is basmati rice gluten free?

Yes, COWBERRY's product facts call basmati rice naturally gluten-free. Check the pack of any masala mix or other ingredient that goes into the pot.

Why is basmati rice expensive?

This page does not cover prices. What COWBERRY says about its basmati is that the grain is naturally aged to develop its fragrance and full length and carefully processed to protect its long grains; how basmati compares with normal rice is set out on the difference between basmati rice and normal rice.