கருப்பு கவுனி

Karuppu Kavuni is the most recognisable heritage rice in Tamil Nadu, and the easiest to identify - the grain is so dark it reads as black until you hold it to the light, where the purple shows through. That colour is natural pigment in the bran, not a treatment, and it survives cooking.

It has a firm, faintly chewy bite and a nutty flavour closer to a whole grain than to polished white rice. Because the bran is intact, it takes considerably longer to cook and holds its shape rather than softening - which is why it works as well in a sweet kavuni arisi as it does alongside a savoury kuzhambu.

Historically it was a restricted grain, associated with the Chettiar community and grown in small quantities rather than as a field crop. It has become widely sought again over the last decade, which has also meant a good deal of adulterated and dyed grain in the market. Ours comes direct from the growers we work with, so what's in the sack is what's on the label.