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Bore baasi
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Bore baasi

Soaked rice with onion

Bore baasi is the summer meal of Chhattisgarh's farmers: cooked rice soaked in water, either for a few hours (bore) or overnight (baasi), then eaten from the bowl with its slightly sour water, raw onion, green chilli and a pinch of salt. It is cooling, filling and easy on the stomach in the heat, and in recent years the state has made 1 May, Labour Day, the day to eat it as Bore Baasi Tihar. Many families add a ladle of buttermilk or curd and something fried or roasted on the side. Food safety matters with any cooked rice left standing, so this version cools the rice fast and soaks it in the fridge. Chef's tip: cool and cover the rice within an hour of cooking; rice left warm on the counter is the real risk, not the soaking.

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