Red rice

I remember years ago hearing about the many colors of rice that used to be grown in Bali and Indonesia. Then foreigners moved in, bringing "superior" white rice and decimating the original varieties. This of course led to malnutrition and other problems.

Monoculture is always less healthy than diversity.

So when I saw organic pink Madagascar rice at Surfas, the cooking store in Culver City, the other day, I had to try it.

Dry, it looks like the rice served at Mexican restaurants that is white rice with red salsa stirred in. When cooked, it retains some of that pinkish color, although it can be confused with brown rice in low light. It has the texture of white rice, and cooks in only 20 minutes. I served it with leftover curried chickpeas, and it was great.

Plus I'm sure it has nutrients that white and brown rice don't have.