Palakkadan Matta Rice is an indigenous cereal plant of Palakkad in Kerala. It is a coarse variety of rice with bold grains and red pericarp. It is a unique cereal having high content of nutrients and is indispensable for those who do hard physical work.
Palakkadan Matta rice has been very popular from early days because of the richness of rice, its unique taste and use in preparations of rice-snacks like “Kondattam”,“Murukku” etc. “Palakkadan Mattayari Kanji” is also famous for its rich nutrient qualities
Rice in the days of Chera and Chola Kingdoms was considered as a royal food. One adventurous farmer chanced upon this unique rice variety in the king’s farm and carried it away in a “Matta” meaning “Areca Leaf’. The rice variety fell into the public domain and was sown by the farmer and soon became a regular rice crop in Palakkad.
Image Credit : biobasics.org
Some of the old and popular varieties of Palakkadan Matta are “Chenkazhama”, “Chettadi”, “Aruvakkari”, “Aryan”, “Vatton”, “Ilupappoochampan”, “Chitteni”, “Thavalakkannan” and the newer varieties like "Kunjukunju" and “jyothi”.
The build of a typical Palakkadan Matta farm is scientific. This is called a “kalam” (farm). The kalam consists of “kalappura” (farm house) built as “aynkolpura” “kattakkalam” (courtyard for curing paddy), “aeri” (pond for irrigation), "thalakkulam" (a tank at the higher part of farm for storing water). In this structure the farm has a sound infrastructure for storage of rainwater, irrigation, drying of grain after harvest and storage of grain.
The seed is dried in sunlight for three days and after that during one full moon night is spread in the courtyard and exposed to moonlight. This is called “Mampookkattal ”- seed cured like this is kept in special rooms with wooden panels.
After “Mundakan” i.e. the second crop harvest in January - February, the fields are ploughed till the topsoil attains almost powder form. On “Vishu” day, farmers take some quantity of these seeds to the field and after doing Pooja, plough again and sow - this is “chalidal” – an auspicious start for a new farming year has been made.
After this, within a month, during one of the “njattuvela”s (13 ½ days cycles named after stars and called “njattuvela”), depending on the optimum moisture availability on the plot (called “Pooval”), the seeds are sown and land is ploughed again two times (process called “vithumatam”, "kalamattam").
Then there is the special tying of bundles of harvested paddy using rice plants called “kathuvu”. This “kathuvu” is kept in a special tray made of bamboo called “thotti” to minimize loss of grain while speedy harvest.
“Par-boiling” of the rice further ensures retention of nutritional value. The grains is grown on unique black cotton or regar soil, derived from rocks rich in lime peculiar to Palakkad also in “Poonthalpadam” where the soil is heavy, containing 60-80% of clay and silt and possess low permeability and high water holding capacity.
It contains Manganese and Zinc, which have antioxidant properties. Matta Rice is heart friendly, this contains Vitamin B6, that helps to balance RBC, in the bloodstream. It is capable of Controlling Cholesterol. It is completely fat-free and can lower obesity. It is also capable of fighting asthma.
GI Tag Registration Date : 24 September 2007
GI Tag Number : 36
Certificate Number : 41
Geographical Area : Kerala
Special Cover Release Date : 13 October 2021
Cancellation : Palakkad 678 001
Type : GI Tag Cover
Cover Identification Number : KL-27/2021
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