Blue Rice / Butterfly pea rice

There are things of fantasies. Mythical creatures, magical swords, ancient wizards, buried languages and... blue rice!

Earlier, I could guess something like blue rice existed. Somewhere, some interested person must have given it a try, out of aesthetic curiosity. It turned out that the "interested person" is my mother (main author of this blog, Jayanthi).

I was surprised to find out that this recipe involves no artificial colouring and is easy to make. This recipe uses Shanka Pushpa flowers (Clitoria ternatea/ Aparajita / Sattaga / blue pea / butterfly pea). They are also called Darwin peas, probably due to their usage by Charles Darwin in his experiments with peas and flowers. These flowers are used in Hindu puja rituals. They serve as memory enhancers, brain boosters and anti-stress agents. 

Hope you are as pleased by the product as I was.

Ingredients

Shanka Pushpa flowers - 20 to 25 flowers
White rice - 1 cup or 100 grams

Method

Firstly, remove the green stem of the flowers and wash the flowers. Ensure no insects are present.

In a vessel, add the rice, water and flowers all at once. Note: your rice can be of any variety; brown rice works too.

Put the vessel in a cooker. Close the lid along with the whistle and allow it until 3 whistles.

After it has cooled sufficiently, remove the cooker lid and take out the vessel. The flowers will be collected in the top layer. Pick the flowers out and discard them.

Your exotic blue rice is now ready! Enjoy it with a tasty side dish for a happy lunch :)

-A

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