Jungle rice facts and health benefits

Jungle rice scientifically known as Echinochloa colona is a kind of annual weed belonging to Poaceae ⁄ Gramineae (Grass family) which produce tiny yellowish white grains. The plant is native to Tropical Asia – Himalaya to West Malaysia. It is cultivated as a fodder grass and cereal in tropical Asia, Africa, Australia, western United States and Canada and in China- Anhui, Guangxi, Guizhou, Heilongjiang, Henan, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Sichuan, Yunnan and Taiwan. The grain looks like rice but it is smaller. And the fact that it grows at waste areas, roadsides, or even jungle instead of farm field, makes it well known as jungle rice. Sometimes, it also grows in between paddy field. Few of the popular common names of the plant are billion-dollar Grass, Cockspur Grass, Indian Barnyard Millet, Japanese Millet, Japanese Barnyard Millet, Sanwa Millet, Sawa Millet, Shama Millet, Siberian Millet, White Millet, White Panic, White Panicum, awnless barnyard grass, barnyard grass, bird’s rice, corn panic grass, Deccan grass, jungle rice, jungle ricegrass, jungle-rice, junglerice, Kalahari watergrass, marsh grass, millet-rice, pigeon millet, river grass, short millet and swamp grass.

Jungle rice was formerly classified as a species of Panicum. It is the wild ancestor of the cultivated cereal crop Echinochloa frumentacea, sawa millet. Some taxonomists treat the two taxa as one species, in which case the domesticated forms may also be referred to as E. colona. Not only filling, the consumption of jungle rice enables us to have the health benefits of jungle rice. About the taste, it tastes good with many kinds of side dishes, just like the common rice. In India, people consume jungle rice during the fasting month and in religious ceremony.  The plant is considered an invasive weed in the Americas and Australia. In Australia, it has spread to wetlands, and is threatening the habitat of swamp tea trees.

Jungle Rice Facts

Plant Description

Jungle rice is a clump-forming, annual (rarely perennial) grass that normally grows about 1–1.2 m tall. The plant is found growing in swampy places, near marshes, around water pipes, rice fields, roadsides, river banks, shores of ponds, the inner edges of mangrove swamps, old clearings, waste places, cultivated fields, ditches, gardens, disturbed sites, waterways, waste grounds, flooded grasslands, edges of saline waterholes and irrigated fields. The plant is predominant on damp, fertile, heavy-textured soils in areas which are seasonally rather than permanently flooded. It is often cultivated on marginal lands where rice and other crops will not grow well.  The plant has shallow fibrous root.  Culms are stout, usually reddish-purple, erect, ascending or decumbent, often branching from the base, often rooting at the lower nodes, 20-60 cm tall, sometimes nodes conspicuously swollen and usually geniculate, compressed, lower inter nodes often exposed.

Leaves

Leaf sheaths are smooth and glabrous and leaf is linear, soft, 15–40 cm long and 1–2.5 cm wide, glabrous, with wavy margins and without ligules. Panicles is 15–20 cm long, erect to slightly drooping at maturity.

Inflorescence

Inflorescence is a terminal panicle with widely spaced, appressed or spreading branches of spike-like racemes, branches single or occasionally paired at the nodes. These primary branches unbranched, panicle mostly 0.03-0.15 m  long,  branches  0.01-0.02  (hardly  0.03  m)  long; axis  and branches  glabrousor  with  some  hairs.  Spikelets are sub sessile, paired, and densely arranged from branch base along one side of the flattened rach is in 2-4 rows.

Spikelets 

Spikelets have one terminal perfect floret with a sterile floret below, with two glumes.  Spikelets  are 0.00254  m  long and 0.001-0.0015  m  wide, ovate  to  elliptic,  awnless  but  sharp-pointed,  weakly hispid-scabrous on the veins; sub sessile; disarticulating below the glumes. First glume is acute, thick, triangular, 0.001-0.0015 m  long,  about  half  as  long  as  spikelet,  3-5  veined;  second glume  and  sterile lemma  equal,  acute to  acuminate, usually hispid-scabrous  to  glabrate,  faintly  veined,  veins  weakly hispid-scabrous; sterile lemma 5-veined. Fertile lemma is plano convex, elliptic, smooth and shiny, abruptly sharp-pointed or cuspidate, margins in rolled below over palea with the apex of palea not enclosed. Palea is flat, surface texture similar to fertile lemma. Caryopsis is 0.0018 m long, elliptic and acute.

History

Its native habitat is unknown and is believed to be in Asia – Himalaya to West Malaysia. It is considered to be a cultivated derivative of Echinochloa colona that arose in India and perhaps Africa. It is cultivated as a fodder grass and cereal in tropical Asia, Africa, Australia, western United States and Canada and in China- Anhui, Guangxi, Guizhou, Heilongjiang, Henan, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Sichuan, Yunnan and Taiwan.

Health Benefits of Jungle Rice

As mentioned above, we can have the health benefits of jungle rice by regularly consume this tiny grained rice. Just like the common Benefits of Seeds and Grains for overall health, here are some health benefits we can get from consuming jungle rice.

1. Improve heart health

Dietary fiber in jungle rice is also good to improve the health of the heart. It is possible since the healthy food with high fiber content is able to cut off the bad cholesterol in the blood. As we know, cholesterol is strongly linked with the health of heart. This way, the consumption of jungle rice is able to reduce the risk of heart diseases, such as coronary heart.

2. Boost immune system

Samo or jungle rice consists of a good amount of vitamin C. the existence of vitamin A, C, and fiber as the antioxidants in jungle rice is able to prevent many diseases development. The antioxidants are able to combat the attack from free radicals and help eliminating unwanted material in the body.

3. Maintain healthy digestion

Not only the excellent in controlling weight, the dietary fiber in jungle rice is beneficial for the whole digestive system. This digestible food is able to maintain bowel movement, so that it is potential to prevent constipation. In addition, the minerals such selenium and manganese is able to protect the gastro intestinal lining by form a shield, so that it is not easily infected.

4. Good for diabetic

Although jungle rice consists of good amount of carbohydrate, it is proved to be low in sugar content. It makes jungle rice or samo is very good for people with diabetes. It is possible since diabetic should consume foods with low glycemic index. This way, diabetic is able to avoid spike up blood sugar by replacing white rice with jungle rice. In addition, they don’t have to worry about the taste, as the jungle rice is able to be combined with their usual favorite side dishes for rice and the most important thing, it is equally filling.

5. Lose weight

High level of dietary fiber in jungle rice enables you to feel full a little longer after eat this rice. This way, you can prevent cravings and manage your food intake. It is very suitable for you who are in weight loss diet program. Jungle rice will do amazing thing to your weight.

6. Energizing

We can consider jungle rice as one of the healthy and beneficial staple foods for some reasons. One of the reasons is that it has balanced carbohydrate, protein, and fat. It is just as suggested by the healthy Ayurveda food. The perfect composition of carbohydrate, protein, and fats as the main sources of energy is able to provide us with energy.

In spite of the energy content in jungle rice, it yet still feels light in the digestive tract. The benefits can also be obtained from regular rice with a super food Quinoa, which own the Health Benefits of Rice and Quinoa.

Traditional uses and benefits of Jungle Rice

• The plant is useful in the treatment of biliousness and constipation.
• The plant is used in spleen and hemorrhage problems.
• It is also used in nausea and constipation.
• Tuber of the plant is said to be possess anti-emetic values and act as a sedative in dyspeptic disorders particularly in vomiting during pregnancy.
• Entire plant or parts of the plant are used for different disorders including wound healing, anti-diabetic, anti-ulcer and antiseptic.

Culinary Uses

• Seeds are cooked and used as millet.
• Seed can be cooked whole or ground into flour and used as a mush or porridge.
• Young plants and shoots are consumed raw or cooked.
• It can be consumed raw with rice.
• Young shoots of barnyard millets are eaten as a vegetable in Java.
• Seeds are boiled in water and used as a substitute for rice in Rajasthan, India.
• Seeds are also ground into flour, sometimes being mixed with maize or black gram, and made into bread or porridge.
• In India seeds of this grass are used to prepare a food dish called khichadi and are consumed during festival fasting days.
• The grain can be cooked whole in water, like rice, or boiled with milk and sugar and eaten as porridge or can be ground into flour.
• Grains can be fermented to make beer.
• Young plants and shoots are edible and can be eaten in times of scarcity.

Jungle rice pudding for fast

Ingredients

Directions

1. Clean and wash the Jungle rice. Soak them in the water for 5 minutes. Remove the water and leave the Jungle rice on the strainer.
2. Blance, and thinly slice the pistachio, and almonds.
3. Remove the green skin of the cardamoms and grind the seeds in the mortar.
4. In a sauce pan/wok heat the ghee. Now fry rice for a minute in the ghee on medium heat.
5. Add milk in the rice and boil it on medium heat. After the first boil reduce the heat and cook until rice is completely cooked. It takes about 10 minutes to cook the rice. Keep stirring the mixture.
6. Add sliced almonds, and sugar. Mix well and cook for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat.
7. Jungle rice kheer is ready. Let it cool.
8. Garnish with ground cardamoms and slivered pistachio and serve.

Jungle rice Chakli

Ingredients

• Jungle rice – 125 grams (3/4 cup)
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp.
• Rock salt – 1/2 tsp. or as per taste
• Sesame seeds – 1 tsp.
• Peppercorns – 1/2 tsp. (freshly ground)
• Oil – 1 tbsp.
• Oil – for frying chakli

Directions

1. Wash the Jungle rice and soak them in water for 2 hours. After this drain the water and grind them bit coarsely in a mixture grinder without adding water. If required, add 1 or 2 tsp. water.
2. Place the pan over flame; add rice paste and 1 tsp. oil to it. Roast for 1 to 2 minute on medium flame. Stir constantly to roast the paste. Thicken the paste until it gets consistency same as that of dough.
3. Take out dough in a bowl and allow it to cool. Now add cumin seeds, sesame seeds, rock salt, peppercorns and knead the dough until smooth and soft. Dough for making chakli is ready.

Making Chakli

1. Make a lump from dough and roll lengthwise. Now place this dough ball into the chakli machine (cookie press). Close the machine.
2. Take a thick polythene sheet and place it over kitchen top.
3. Press the machine and make round chaklis over the polythene sheet. Make 7 to 8 chaklis over the polythene sheet.

Frying Chaklis

1. Take oil in a wok and heat. The oil should be medium hot. Lift up the chakli from polythene sheet very gently so that its shape remains intact.
2. Place the chakli in hot oil. Fry the chaklis on medium-high flame. Place as many chaklis as possible in the oil and fry until they turn golden brown in color from all sides.
3. Take them out in plate with absorbent paper. Likewise prepare all chaklis.
4. Chakli for fasts is ready. When chakli cools, place them in air tight container and relish eating whenever you want for up to a month.

Other facts

• The seed of Jungle rice is used as a feed for caged birds.
• This millet is cultivated for forage and grain, also sometimes as a soil stabilizer.
• It is frequently planted for temporary control of erosion in newly cleared and ploughed sandy soils because they grow rapidly and seed is cheap.
• Jungle rice is a valuable fodder relished by all classes of livestock, notably dairy animals and water buffaloes.
• Stems are used in weaving mats.

References:

https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=40670#null

http://www.hear.org/pier/species/echinochloa_colona.htm

https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=316659

https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Echinochloa+colona

https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/20368

http://www.floracatalana.net/echinochloa-colona-l-link

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ECCO2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinochloa_colona

https://www.feedipedia.org/node/452

http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-410176

https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/echinochloa_colona.htm

http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/training/fact-sheets/item/echinochloa-colona

https://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Echinochloa_colona_(PROSEA)

https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/ECHCO

http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Echinochloa+colona

https://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Jungle%20Rice.html

https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/229599

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