Traditional Parboiled Rice-Based Products Revisited: Current Status and Future Research Challenges

Parboiling is an age old technique carried out to improve rice quality. Different grain parboiling techniques have been traditionally followed and scientifically developed for preparation and industrialization of rice. The state of Assam, India produces a large number of rice varieties, some of which are traditionally processed into peculiar parboiled rice products like Hurum, Komal chaul, Bhoja chaul and Sandahguri, which are of both ethnic and possible commercial importances. In spite of extensive research carried out on parboiled rice, these products and their special parboiling techniques have not been sufficiently explored. The status of research on parboiled rice as a whole with special attention to these lesser known speciality products of Assam is extensively reviewed. Future scope of research on these products is also identified.