Basmati rice

Basmati rice
Brown regular rice (left) compared to brown basmati rice
Genus	Oryza
Origin	India

Basmati (pronounced IPA: [baːsmət̪iː] in South Asia) is a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice which is traditionally from the Indian subcontinent. As of 2014, India exported 65 percent of the overseas basmati rice market, while Pakistan accounted for the remainder, according to the state-run Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. However, many countries use domestically grown basmati rice crops.

"Basmati" derives from the Hindi word बासमती, bāsmatī, literally meaning "fragrant" (Sanskrit बासमती, bāsamatī). Basmati rice is believed to have been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for centuries. The earliest extant work to mention basmati rice is Heer Ranjha (1766).

Basmati was introduced to the Middle East by Indian traders. Through cultural exchange, it remains not only an important part of various Indian/Bangladeshi/Pakistani cuisines, but now is also used extensively in Persian, Arab, and other Middle Eastern cuisines as well. India, Bangladesh and Pakistan are the exclusive growers and exporters of this type of rice.

India accounts for over 70% of the world's basmati rice production. A small portion of that is being grown organically. Organisations such as Kheti Virasat Mission are trying to increase the amount of basmati rice that is being grown in the Punjab in India.

The areas of basmati rice production in India are in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. India's total basmati production for the July 2011–June 2012 crop year was 5 million tonnes. In India, Haryana is the major basmati rice cultivating state, producing more than 60 percent of the total basmati rice produced in India.