Rice Flour

AS the name suggests, rice flour is made from rice. The number one food staple in most Asian countries. Rice flour is milled from rice. The process is to make flour from finely ground milled rice.

Rice flour is very popular in Indian and Japanese cuisine. IN Japan, rice flour is used to make rice cakes. They call rice flour mochiko. A very glutinous rice with high starch content is what they use to make rice flour in Japan. Rice flour is then used to make sweet, sticky Japanese confections and rice cakes. In India, specifically in the Mangalore region, rice flour is a staple in most Mangalorean cuisine. Mangalore Bajji and Rotti as popular examples. Bajji is made from rice flour, maida, curd, and other Indian spices. The ingredients form a batter which they make into balls and are then fried in coconut oil. Rotti is chili-based chicken curry and dry bread made from finely-milled rice or rice flour.

Rice flour is used as a substitute for wheat flour. Rice flour is preferred by people who are gluten intolerant. Rice flour does not contain gluten, while wheat flour does. This is not the only benefit of rice flour, researchers have found that rice flour absorbs less fat when dough made from rice flour is fried, as opposed to wheat flour.