Matta rice

It is popular in Kerala and coastal Karnataka in India and Sri Lanka where it is used on a regular basis for idlies, appams and plain rice.

Palakkadan matta rice was the choice of the royal families of Chola and Chera dynasties of India.

[citation needed] Kerala matta rice has been historically popular due to its rich and unique taste.

[3] References to chunnila matta can be found in the work Rice in Kerala authored by Sri.

[4] Palakkadan matta rice is cultivated in the dense black cotton soil of Palakkad district in Kerala.

Like all brown or parboiled rice, red matta has a lengthy cooking time and requires extra water.

[6] Palakkadan matta rice is registered under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 by the Palakkad Matta Farmers Producer Company Ltd.[7] It is a coarse variety of rice with bold grains and red pericarp.

The grains are grown on unique black cotton or regar soil, derived from rocks rich in lime peculiar to Palakkad, also in Poonthalpadam where the soil is heavy, containing 60–80% of clay and silt and possess low permeability and high water holding capacity.

[citation needed] The rice is washed in a large pan and left to soak from 1 hour to overnight.