Scientists find lifesaver for India – rice that doesn't have to be cooked

By Andrew Buncombe in Delhi

It sounds too good to be true. But if Indian scientists are correct, hundreds of millions of people across the subcontinent could benefit from a specially-developed strain of rice that "cooks" simply by being soaked in water.

Experts at the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Orissa who have developed the grain were inspired by so-called soft rice, or komal saul, that grows in the north-east Indian state of Assam. Traditional recipes call for such rice to be soaked overnight in water, then eaten with mustard oil and onions.

Until now, these low-yielding grains have not grown outside the north-east, but the scientists at CRRI have managed to develop a hybrid of a traditional soft rice with a high-yielding variety of regular rice. The result has been called Aghunibora. Click here to read the rest at The Independent World

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