What started as a primitive wild aquatic grass in the land mass called Gondwana, about 10 million years ago, evolved into two cultigens as African rice and Asian rice. I will not even attempt to summarize the history of this grain that has a place in almost every kitchen and in several religious texts. Instead I will tell you the story of how Gomini won her prince by treating rice the way it should be. Dashakumaracharita, a collection of romantic prose, was written in the 7th or 8th century CE by Dandi in Sanskrit (about 1300-1400 years ago). Saktikumara of Tamil Nadu was in the search of his perfect bride and to every girl he ‘liked liked’ he presented a measure of unhusked rice and requested her to make a meal with it for him. Obviously, there were many failed attempts and rejections, some girls just laughed at him, I’m sure others rolled their eyes and some probably botched the rice. But then he met Gomini, who took care of the rice so lovingly and with such expertise that he was blown away. She traded the rice husks for dry wood and then cooked the rice. She then traded the charcoal, left after cooking the rice, for vegetables and presented our Saktikumara (who must have been ravenous by now) with a meal of perfectly cooked rice, ghee, vegetable curry, and yogurt. This sealed the deal for our beau and I presume they lived happily ever after surrounded by mounds of rice.

A few years ago I tried to switch out the white rice for brown and was met with loud protests and complaints from the little birds and the old bird as well. They found it too chewy, too hard, too rice-y, etc. I backed off and allowed them to continue digging into piles of soft fluffy white rice. I did continue to use brown rice where I could disguise it, namely in dosas and other rice pancakes.

Over time, I think their palates have matured and they are less resistant to brown rice. This recipe is better with brown rice precisely because it retains its texture and chewiness more than white rice.

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Step by Step

1. Rinse and soak 1 cup brown rice for 30 mins.
   • Place it in a saucepan with 3 cups of water.
   • Cover and allow the water to come to a boil.
   • Remove the cover and let the rice cook on medium to low heat.
   • Depending on the variety and age of the rice, it should absorb all the water and become soft in about 10 mins. Taste a kernel or two. Sometimes you may need to add 1/2 cup more water if the rice is still a bit hard.
   • Set aside to cool.
2. Gather the salsa ingredients together in a large bowl
   • 1 avocado, sliced, peeled and chopped into chunky pieces
   • 1 semi-ripe mango, peeled and chopped into chunky pieces
   • 1/2 cup bell peppers, any combination
   • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, stem and leaves
   • 2 tsp lemon or lime juice
   • 1 tbsp olive oil
3. Add the spices
   • 1.5 tsp salt
   • 1 tsp pepper
   • 1 tsp cumin powder
   • 1 tsp dried chipotle pepper powder (or any other red chili powder that you have on hand, I love the smokiness of chipotle with mango)
4. Mix gently.
5. Now add the cooked brown rice, which would have cooled down to room temperature.
6. Mix the salsa with the rice and taste it. Adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
7. Serve with tortilla chips.

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Some Tips

You can soak the rice longer, for 1-2 hours, before you cook it. It does not hurt.

The mango should be semi-ripe or it won’t hold its shape. Similarly, choose a firm avocado that can be chopped into pieces.

Also you can add deseeded and chopped jalapeños or serrano peppers, black beans or chopped onions to the bowl. They all taste delicious.