Wehani - am I the last to find this rice?

Have you ever heard of Wehani rice? I know I hadn't until I read about it in the latest issue of Eating Well. This whole-grain rice is related to Basmati rice - it has a very different appearance though! It has a reddish-brown tinge, the grains are thicker than regular long-grain brown rice and it produces a very aromatic note of popcorn while it cooks. One thing I noticed when it had completed cooking was that the grains split open a little somewhat akin to what happens when you cook wild rice. I went out to a few of our local markets to see if I could even find it and was surprised I was able to easily locate it in each store! I wonder how I missed it before? Once we had finished cooking the Wehani rice, we began the rest of tonight's dinner - Dirty Rice! Confession; just like the last time we made a different version, this is not "true" dirty rice, but I just can't bring myself to buy chicken livers and gizzards. We've come a long way in our culinary journey, but neither of us are ready for that (and can't say we ever will be either!). So, instead of using those chicken parts, the dish ends up a little lighter as the meaty portion comes from using chicken andouille sausage. While the sausage is already cooked, we first browned them in the skillet to enhance their flavor with a bit of caramelization. When browned, chopped onions, celery and a red bell pepper are added. Once they had softened enough, a couple cloves of garlic are tossed in, followed by a bit of fresh thyme and a couple shakes of cayenne pepper for a background of heat. While you could use regular long-grain brown rice in this recipe, the Wehani rice brought a chewier, more toothsome texture that was a welcome change. I'm looking forward to experimenting more and seeing what other dishes would benefit from this extrinsic rice! Recipes Dirty Rice