Kalajeera Rice

Kalajeera is a landrace, not a bred variety. The grain is short, dark before milling and named for how closely it resembles black cumin seed. It grows rainfed on Kandhamal's upland plots, which means one crop a year and no assurance beyond the monsoon.

For most of its life it never left the district. Households kept it for festivals and weddings, and what little moved went through local exchange rather than a market. The aroma is the reason it deserved better, and the reason it never travelled: it shows up in the pot, not in the sack, so nobody buying by the sack ever paid for it.

Our lots come from Self-Help Groups in Kandhamal. Grading, weighing and packing happen in the village before the rice leaves, so a bag traces back to a group rather than to a mandi.