Chire from Kalirai
Chire from Kalirai
Couldn't load pickup availability
- single-origin heirloom
- cultivated with love
- nature-friendly farming
This chire is made from the heirloom rice Kalirai. We are producing it following a traditional processes by hand, which retains the outer red bran of the rice. This is not just great for nutritional benefits, but also allows to carry the flarvour and earthiness of the rice.
Kalirai is an heirloom rice variety mainly growing in the lower Gangetic plains as it is a deep-water paddy plant, which can tolerate up to 15 feet of water. While the paddy is in brownish black colour, the rice kernel is reddish in appearance resulting in this beautiful red specks on the chire.
| flavour | toasted . earthy |
| aroma | earthy |
| appearance | off-white with brownish red specks on flakes |
|
storage |
store them in a cool and dry place |
what you can cook with it
Whip up a savoury breakfast with your preferred style of Poha or Bengal favourit Chir'er Pulao. You can also keep it super light and healthy and simply eat it with a few dollops of yoghurt substituting it for your morning granola or muesli.
| origin | Malda, West Bengal |
| processing | handmade |
About Chire
Chire are derivatives of rice that are popular in most of the rice consuming nations in South Asia. The traditional way of making them is to parboil the rice grains with husk, drain and dry them completely. The next day, the parboiled grains are dry-roasted and immediately transferred to a shallow hole below a pounding lever, known in Bengal as dhneki. As soon as the grains are poured into the hole, the lever is manoeuvred by foot at one end while the hot grains are turned and tossed inside the hole by hand.
Clearly, the process is an example of experience and pure craftsmanship requiring dexterity and acute sense of timing by both the persons, mostly women, involved; and the job a risky one. The flattened flakes are then winnowed using a kulo that gets rid of the loose husks and broken grains. What is left are toasty additive-free flakes of rice, consumed and loved across regions that know about them and which can potentially replace processed-sugared corn flakes in breakfast cereals.
our philosophy
We believe that the way we cultivate, process, buy, and cook our food can change the world for better. Every time you decide to buy food that has been produced in a sustainable way, you make the world a better place. Learn more about our manifesto.
