Yesterday when I was grocery shopping I came across a new seed, Durra (Sorghum bicolor), which is sold as an alternative to rice.

The particular package I found contained a mix between Durra and red rice. Since I enjoy trying new food ingredients I bought a package to try.

I cooked it according to instructions, which said 25 minutes. I tasted it and it felt like it was still undercooked, so I left it on for a bit longer. To my surprise it didn’t seem to take up any water or get any softer as time passed, so I figured it probably is meant to be a bit harder then rice. The taste was OK, nothing overwhelming though.

On the package it said to be a replacement option to rice, and to some extent I do agree, but I didn’t really find it as good as rice (or bulgur which I often use instead of rice) when served with stew, in this case chicken stew. Durra just seem to dry, and it doesn’t really suck up any of the sauce.

The package also suggested it to be suitable for use in salads. This I can believe, although I have not tried. What I’m thinking here is to add a little into the salad bowl, kind of like you’d add beans or chickpeas. Or instead of rice in a chicken salad. I think it would work in this scenario because you’d probably add less to a salad then you’d put on your plate together with the stew, or other hot dish.

I will give it another go though, but next time I’ll treat it a little more as I would with dried beans or chickpeas, meaning I’ll let them soak in cold water a while before actually cooking them to see if they get any more moist and soft. If I remember to I’ll post about how that goes later on when I’ve tried.

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