Degchi
Sella rice
Also written: parboiled basmati, golden sella
Sella rice is basmati that was parboiled while still in its husk, then dried and milled. Before cooking the grains look pale gold or tan instead of white. Once cooked they turn white again.
The practical difference is texture. Sella grains are firmer, do not break as easily and stay separate even when you cook a big pot or hold it warm for a while. That forgiving behaviour is why many cooks reach for it when making biryani for a crowd. Regular basmati is more delicate, so it suits a quick pulao better.
It needs more patience than white basmati. Rinse it, soak it for longer (many packets say 30 minutes to an hour, so check yours), and expect the boiling stage to take longer. The grains should still snap and show a firm core before you drain them for the dum stage. Because it holds its shape, it is harder to ruin by being a minute or two over.
Our recipes call for plain basmati, so treat sella as a swap rather than a requirement. If you try it in our Chicken Biryani, lengthen the soak, taste a grain at the end of boiling, and keep the rest of the method the same. Do not treat it as a drop-in for a quick one-pot rice dish, where the extra cooking time will not fit the recipe.
Recipes that use it
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