APEDA basmati rice conference

ByQin Xie 23/03/201219/05/2020

What happens when you invite a group of international chefs to India with one brief in mind – to create dishes using Basmati rice as the main ingredient? That was precisely what happened at the APEDA conference titled “Basmati for the World” which took place at the end of November.

Fragrant, nutty and long grained, Basmati is only grown in northern India and Pakistan and it was traditionally considered a premium ingredient. As an Indian government agency, it’s part of APEDA’s job to promote the export of Basmati across the world as a unique ingredient and for its 2011 campaign, the agency has chosen food as the carrier of its message. Over the two-day conference, the international chefs created innovative dishes while the Indian chefs prepared more traditional dishes all using Basmati as the main ingredient. A coffee table book of recipes titled “Basmati: Fragrance, Flavour & Finery” was also released.

Below is a selection of photographs from the conference:

Rice wrap at APEDA basmati rice conference

Rice soup at APEDA basmati rice conference

British chefs at APEDA basmati rice conference

Rice bowl at APEDA basmati rice conference

Rice and scallops at APEDA basmati rice conference

Mexican chefs at APEDA basmati rice conference

Arancini balls at APEDA basmati rice conference

Indian press at APEDA basmati rice conference

David Felton at APEDA basmati rice conference

French chef at APEDA basmati rice conference

Rice calzoni at APEDA basmati rice conference

Patrick Drake at APEDA basmati rice conference

Rice and clams at APEDA basmati rice conference

Rice and corn at APEDA basmati rice conference

Basmati risotto at APEDA basmati rice conference

Cajun rice and black pea salad at APEDA basmati rice conference

Seafood rice at APEDA basmati rice conference

Basmati rice pudding at APEDA basmati rice conference

Qin Xie

Qin Xie is a London based food, wine and travel journalist and trained chef.

When not infiltrating Michelin restaurants as a kitchen tourist, she writes about food, drink and travel. Her work has appeared on Yahoo, FT, The Times and CNN.

Her first cookbook, co-authored with YS Peng at Hunan Restaurant, is out March 2014.

According to friends, her watch is always set to UTC -- ready for the next big adventure. In reality, she is happiest at the dinner table or by the sea.