India is a country for food lovers, you find different types of food made from cooked vegetables or meat that are eaten with rice, bread, chapatti and roti.

Rice is one of the most eaten foods in India, especially South India where there are so many dishes that are made out of rice, most people feel there is something missing if they do not eat rice.

During childhood, I avoided eating rice, I was very happy when my mother used to prepare food accompanied with chapatti, nowadays, I eat rice more than any other food.

I love eating rice because it is unique, it can be eaten with anything, be it vegetables, chicken, mutton curry, the variety of dishes prepared by rice is uncountable.

One of the best examples is biryani, it does not matter if it is made from vegetables, chicken or mutton, everyone loves a good biryani, in my opinion it is the basmati rice that makes it special.

There are different types of rice found in India, research has shown that there are approximately 6000 different forms of rice available in India with Basmati rice being the most famous type of rice that is loved not just in India but around the world.

There are some differences that we find in the rice consumption habits of people within India and abroad, in India, South Indians eat more rice as compared to North Indians, worldwide most Asian countries eat rice, unlike America and Europe.

Rice is not just part of our diet, there are so many countries that are united by rice consumption, China, Pakistan, Japan, the Middle East etc. are all examples of countries that are different from India and yet they all eat rice.

What I like about rice is you do not need a lot of time and effort to prepare, there are so many dishes that can be made with just one additional ingredient.

There are rice dishes like jeera rice, yoghurt rice, lemon rice, tomato rice, coriander rice fried rice, where you add onions and salt to taste, it completes my meal for the day.

Rice is also used to make chicken fried rice, spinach rice, capsicum rice, soya biryani, coconut rice and beetroot rice to name a few.

Then there are the foods made from rice flour such as idlis, dosa, rice chakli, phirni and modak which shows that anything made from rice or rice flour is tasty and worth eating.

Rice is also found in different colours, there is white red, brown and black rice and different lengths of rice, that is small, medium and long grain rice.

I find it incredible that rice is something that we eat daily and most of us are unaware that each type of rice is different and has its own taste, aroma, flavour and texture that adds value to our daily meals.

In the end, rice is one of a kind, it has so many uses and it is part of the Indian diet with no other food being able to take its place.