Shama

Shama is a rice and flour label covering the main staples of a Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi household under one name. Its range concentrates on a few lines done in several sizes, from bags for a small family to the large sacks that restaurants and big households buy.

We carry Shama across basmati rice, sella basmati rice and jasmine rice, all within basmati and long grain rice, and in chapati atta. The basmati includes extra long grain styles, and the sella is the golden kind, parboiled for a firm grain.

Extra long basmati is the choice for plain steamed rice, jeera rice and a fragrant pulao, where length and aroma show. Golden sella is the workhorse for biryani and restaurant pilau because it stays separate through dum cooking and reheating. Jasmine suits Thai curries and fried rice, and the chakki atta makes everyday chapatis, parathas and puris. A household that cooks both biryani and plain rice often keeps a sack of each, and a bag of jasmine for nights when the family wants noodles and stir-fry.

Keep rice sacks off the floor in a cool, dry spot, and roll the top down tightly after each scoop. Soak basmati for twenty to thirty minutes before cooking to help the grains lengthen. To compare, browse our Tilda shelf and the Kohinoor range.