Rice is the staple food of millions of people from the Indian sub continent and Asia, not to mention Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries.  The most popular strains of rice used in Asian cooking are the long grain highly fragrant Basmati.

Rice is one of the key sources of carbohydrates in an Indian diet and in its humblest form is merely boiled and salted.  More exotic preparations like Pilau and Biriyani, have made their mark on the culinary map and were brought to India by the Persians and Arabs. 

The tantalisingly elusive fragrance and flavour of a well prepared rice dish is now an international language stretching from India, all the way through the middle east to the shores of north Africa and central Europe.