Wild rice is closely entwined with the Ojibwe way of living in the Americas and the history of this wild grass is as painful as the history of Native Americans and their treatment in the US. Wild rice is grown in the cool lakes of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Canada. It is not a rice like jasmine or basmati, but are seeds of tall grasses that the Ojibwe and other tribes have cultivated, protected and harvested for centuries.

The tribal way of cultivating and harvesting wild rice has been threatened by the use of machinery and commercialization of this crop, leading to dying out of certain species and increasing pollution of waters.

Manoomin, means good berry, is the Ojibwe name for wild rice and the native recipes for cooking it are quite simple; rice, water, a few spices and maybe some meat and cranberries. The prepared wild rice can be used as stuffing for peppers and pumpkins.

The rice cooks easily and the grains kind of curl up once cooked. The taste is definitely nutty and a bit smoky. It is higher in protein than regular rice and has a large number of antioxidants.

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Step by Step

1. Take 1 cup wild rice in a sieve and rinse it under running water.
2. Soak it in a pan for 30 mins in 3 cups of water.
3. Drain the water after 30 mins and add 4 cups water to the pan for cooking.
4. Place on medium flame in a pan, uncovered.
5. Check in 15 mins and taste a few grains, they should be soft.
6. Cooking times may vary, please check the packaging for specific instructions.
7. Drain the excess water by sieving.
8. Cover the pan and let stand for 10 mins.
9. Fluff with a fork and it is ready for use.
10. 1 cup raw wild rice makes almost 3 cups of cooked rice.