Only boiled rice mill sees huge demand

Boiled rice or brown rice known as ‘Kucchige Akki’ is the staple food of the people living in coastal belt. However, there are quite some number of people eating this ‘Kucchige Akki’ even in Malnad region but only problem is the shortage of production mills despite good demand.

Some years ago the situation was not the same. Though some rice mills used to produce ‘kucchige akki’ and provide it to the market lack of demand had compelled them to close down.

Suresh Shetty, a mill owner had started a mill exclusively to produce ‘kucchige akki’ at Gunavanthe in Koppa. After sustaining it for a while he and many of his counterparts had to pull shutters down, due to lack of demand. Suresh Shetty has reopened the mill two years ago seeing increasing demand in the region.

The mill has equipment with the capacity to boil 10 quintal rice at once. The paddy soaked in water is heated in paddy husk fire for about one and half hour. The water is strained only to leave half foot water in the heating cauldron. Then the paddy is boiled using the steam from the remaining water. The paddy thus prepared is dried later.

He charges Rs 150 as processing charge and since there are no boiled rice mills in four taluks nearby, farmers from Koppa, Sringeri, NR Pura and Theerthahalli come here for processing paddy. All in all the only brown rice mill is making hay when the sun shines.