Suriya

Suriya is a rice label focused on traditional South Indian and Sri Lankan varieties, the kinds that home cooks seek out by name. Alongside the familiar samba grains it carries heritage red rices and a hand pounded parboiled rice, plus a dark jaggery for sweets.

Suriya rice sits in our samba rice collection, with keeri samba and muthu samba, and in red rice, with hand pounded boiled rice, red nadu attakkari and mottai karuppan. Black jaggery cubes are listed under jaggery. The rices belong to our Sri Lankan rice and South Indian rice shelves.

Keeri samba, with its tiny round grains, is the Sri Lankan choice for biryani, lamprais and festive yellow rice, while muthu samba is a little bolder and suits everyday rice and curry. Red nadu attakkari is a chewy, nutty rice for a plate of rice with dhal, fish curry and mallung, and mottai karuppan is a Tamil heritage red rice cooked for kanji and served with kuzhambu. Hand pounded boiled rice keeps more of its bran and cooks to a soft, rustic grain for everyday meals. Black jaggery is grated into pongal, kozhukattai filling and payasam.

Rinse red and samba rices well and allow extra water and time for the red varieties, which keep their bran; soaking for an hour shortens cooking. Store sacks sealed against weevils in a cool, dry cupboard. To compare, see our raw and naadu rice and the Thurkas range.