Thooyamalli Rice

Thooyamalli Rice is a traditional aromatic rice variety of Tamil Nadu, known for its slender, pearly-white grains, soft cooking quality and delicate fragrance. The name, meaning 'pure jasmine', reflects the rice's clean white colour and its subtle jasmine-like aroma, and the crop matures over roughly four and a half months in the state's paddy tracts. It is a heritage landrace grown in the traditional way, valued for being light and easily digestible, and is favoured for everyday meals as well as for dishes where its fragrance is appreciated. As one of Tamil Nadu's native rice varieties, it forms part of the movement to conserve and revive traditional paddy, which is prized for taste, nutrition and adaptability to local conditions. Grown by farmers who save and share its seed, Thooyamalli supports traditional rice cultivation and adds to the diversity of the state's native grains.