Puffed rice is a type of puffed grain

Puffed grain

Puffed grain includes ancient puffed grains like popcorn as well as puffed rice. Modern puffed grains are often created using high temperature, pressure, and/or extrusion....

 made from rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

; usually made by heating rice kernels under high pressure

High pressure

High pressure in science and engineering is studying the effects of high pressure on materials and the design and construction of devices, such as a diamond anvil cell, which can create high pressure...

 in the presence of steam

Steam

Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...

, though the method of manufacture varies widely.

Origin

Pori (Puffed Rice) has been mentioned in various Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 literatures as an offering to Hindu deities.

• Pori offered to Vinayagar (Lord Ganesh) with jaggery, mentioned in Tiruppugazh, a 15th century anthology of Tamil
  Tamil language
  Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
  
   religious songs, written by Arunagirinathar
  Arunagirinathar
  Arunagirinathar was Tamil poet who lived during the 15th century in Tamil Nadu, India. He was the creator of Tiruppugazh, a book of poems in Tamil in praise of the Hindu God Murugan. He was a member of the Isai Vellalar community....
  
  , Tamil poet.

Usage

Puffed rice is used in snack foods and breakfast cereals, and is also a popular street food in some parts of the world. It is an ingredient of bhel puri, a popular Indian chaat

Chaat

Chaat is a term describing savoury snacks, typically served at road-side tracks from stalls or carts in India. With its origins in east India, chaat has become immensely popular in the rest of India and the rest of South Asia...

 item. It is also used in temples and gurdwaras as prasad

Prasad

Prasād is a mental condition of generosity, as well as a material substance that is first offered to a deity and then consumed...

.

Pori is offered to Hindu God and Goddess in all poojas in the South Indian state of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 and Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

. Pilgrims of Sabarimala

Sabarimala

Sabarimala is a Hindu pilgrimage center located in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District in Kerala. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in India with an estimated 45–50 million devotees visiting every year. Sabarimala is believed to be the place where the Hindu God Ayyappan...

 often pack puffed rice in their Irumudikettu along with jagery meant to be offered to Lord Ayyappan

Ayyappan

Ayyappan is a Hindu deity worshiped in a number of shrines across India. Ayyappan is believed to be an incarnation of Dharma Sastha, who is the son of Shiva and Vishnu . The name "Ayyappan" is used as a respectful form of address in the Malayalam language, spoken in the Indian state of Kerala...

. To Lord Ganesh puffed rice (Pori) is offered without fail since its meant to be most liked by him, says Tamil

Tamil people

Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...

 saints. Also as snacks all over the state. Making Pori is the main family business for centuries among many villages around Namakkal, Avinashi

Avinashi

Avinashi is a suburb of the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. It is a municipality town in Tirupur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu...

 in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

.
Mudhi is a staple food of people of Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

. Northen Orissa, especially Baripada

Baripada

Baripada is a city and a municipality in Mayurbhanj district in the state of Orissa, India. Baripada is the district headquarters. It is a place to stay and tour the Mayurbhanj region, a region with one of the most important wildlife parks of India , lush valleys, forest lands and scores of ancient...

, Mayurbhanj district

Mayurbhanj District

Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts in Orissa state in eastern India. It is the largest district of Orissa by area. Baripada city is the district headquarters. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Orissa , after Ganjam and Cuttack.-History:Mayurbhanj District was formed...

 is significant for the production of Mudhi, where throughout the state it is eaten in breakfast. NGO

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

s have taken forward initiatives to engage village women of northern Orissa for producing Mudhi. Intellectual property rights (IPR) Cell of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT)

Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology

Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology was established in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India in 1962. It is the second oldest agricultural university in the country. It is dedicated to agriculture related research, extension and education.At present, the University has 8 constituent colleges...

 has decided to bring out Geographical indication (GI) registration of Mudhi.

A traditional puffed rice called muri (sometimes spelled mouri) is made by heating rice in a sand

Sand

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...

-filled oven

Oven

An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance. It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens...

. Muri is to rice as popcorn

Popcorn

Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...

 is to corn. The processing involved makes rice less perishable. Muri is a staple food

Staple food

A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...

 in many parts of Rayalaseema

Rayalaseema

Rayalaseema is a geographic region in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It includes the districts of Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool. These Telugu speaking districts were part of Madras Presidency until 1953 when Telugu speaking districts of Madras presidency were carved out to form...

, North Karnataka

North Karnataka

North Karnataka is an arid plateau from elevation in the Karnataka state of southwest India. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra...

, Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

, West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

 and Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

. Jhalmuri or Masalamuri or Bhelpuri

Bhelpuri

Bhelpuri is a puffed rice dish with various vegetables and a tangy tamarind sauce. It is a type of chaat, or small plates of savoury snacks, particularly identified with the beaches of Mumbai , such as Chowpatty. Bhelpuri is called Jhaal Muri in Kolkata...

 is a very popular preparation made from muri.

Puffed rice is referred to as mur-mure in some parts of India. In many parts of Rayalaseema, North Karnataka uggani along with Mirapakai Bajji (Chilli Bajjis) are popular.

Puffed rice in different languages

Language	Puffed rice
Assamese Assamese Assamese refers to "related/associated to or belonging to Assam or the people/culture of Assam". It could mean any of the following or more:* Assamese people, people of Assam* Assamese language... ,Oriya Oriya language Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...	Mudhi
Bengali Bengali language Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...	muri
English	Puffed Rice or Bengal Biscuits (Relating to India)
Chinese Chinese language The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...	mi xiang
Gujarati	Mumra or Mamra
Kannada	Kalle Puri, Puri, Mandalu,Chirumuri or Mandakki and Aralu (Poprice)
Kazakh Kazakh language Kazakh is a Turkic language which belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages, closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak....	кіртілдек күріш ("kirtildek kurish")
Konkani	Chirmulyo, Chanburo
Korean Korean language Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...	Gang-naeng-yi
Kosli language (Sambalpuri)	Bhuja
Malayalam	Pori, Malaru
Marathi	Kurmure / Murmure
Maithili	Murhi
Nepali	Murai / Muri
Norwegian Norwegian language Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...	Puffet ris
Russian Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...	воздушный рис ("vozdushny ris")
Tamil	Pori
Telugu	Borugulu or Mora moraalu (similar to "mur mure")
Tulu Tulu language The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...	Kurlu
Urdu (Dakkani)	Murmure
Portuguese	Arroz Tufado
Slovene	ekspandiran riž
Serbian	ekspandirani pirinač
Croatian	ekspandirana riža
Swedish Swedish language Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...	Puffat ris
íslenska Icelandic language Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...	uppblásin hrísgrjón
Hindi	Murmure / Parmal / Laee / Laiyaa
Italian Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...	Riso soffiato
Punjabi	Phulian
Spanish Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...	Arroz inflado
Polish Polish language Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...	Ryż dmuchany / preparowany
Hungarian Hungarian language Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....	puffasztott rizs
Hebrew Hebrew language Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...	Orez TaFuah
German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....	Puffreis / Reiswaffel
French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...	Riz soufflé
Vietnamese	Bỏng gạo