How to convert your leftover rice into SUPERFOOD?

Rice is one of the most popular grains eaten around the world. It is consumed in many different ways and forms like boiled, steamed, stir-fried? 

Did you know the best way to eat rice is after fermenting it overnight!!

Fermentation increases the bioavailability of its nutrients by multiple folds and also provides a very critical element for our gut – probiotics.

What surprised me the most was that by simply fermenting rice overnight for 12 hours enriches it with different essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, and degrades antinutrients (phytic acid, tannins, and polyphenols).  Fermented rice is good for your whole body including your skin, hair, and gut.

Here are some of the most well-known benefits of Fermented Rice:

Improved Bio-Availability of nutrients: After just 12 hours of fermentation of 100 grams of rice, the availability of iron changed from 3.4 mg to 73.91mg (an increase of 2073%). Bio-availability of other vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B6/12 and Calcium and Phosphorous also increased multi-fold.

Gut friendly: Fermentation harbors trillions of beneficial bacteria that help digestion and has many disease-fighting and immunity developing properties. Consuming rice in this form helps quicker digestion and strengthen the immune system. As this is very fibrous food, it also helps with the regulation of your poop. It is one of the powerful and cheap probiotic foods you can have.

Easy to make: Fermenting rice is one of the simplest dishes you can make. All you need is cooked rice and water and let nature do its work. 

Here is a simple recipe to cook fermented rice:

Ingredients: (makes 1 serving)

• 1 cup boiled basmati rice
• 2 cups of water

Tempering

• 1 tbsp Coconut oil
• 3-4 Curry leaves
• ½ tsp Mustard seeds
• Salt to taste
• 1 green chili chopped
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder (Optional)
• 1 tsp chopped onion (Optional)
• Cilantro 
• 1 tsp Lemon juice or 1 tbsp yogurt

Steps:

• Mix the boiled rice with water in a glass or clay container
• Leave in a warm place overnight or a minimum of 8 hours
• In the morning strain the water and drink it as a refreshing probiotic drink (Taste alert: it will taste like rice)

Tempering for the rice

• Heat oil in a pan – add mustard seeds and curry leaves
• Add chopped onions when seeds start to splutter
• Stir it for 2 minutes and switch off the gas
• Add the tempering, salt, and spices to the fermented rice
• Mix well while mashing the rice well with a spoon
• Garnish with green chili and cilantro leaves
• Mix lemon juice or yogurt 
• Enjoy during breakfast or lunch!

There are different variations of fermented rice enjoyed in various parts of the world. In China, its called “Jiuniang” or “Laozao”, and in Singapore and other adjacent countries, it’s called “Tapai”. These are the sweeter version of fermented rice.

Next time you cook rice, keep some aside for fermentation and enjoy the many benefits of this simple yet powerful probiotic food.