The US once tried to create its own version of the Basmati rice and gave it the funniest name one could imagine: Texmati — which sounds a lot like Bagwati from the 2011 movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. But just as a first copy can't match the elegance of a Hermes or a Birkin, Texmati tried hard, but failed to replicate the aroma, the length, and the fluffy texture of the original grown in the Indian Himalayan foothills.

It was named Texmati because the hybrid was made in Texas , in the 1980s.

The hybrid was explicitly developed to reduce reliance on aromatic rice imports, such as traditional basmati from India. But over the decades, Texmati has failed to displace Basmati from American tables.

There's a reason why we are talking about Basmati, Texmati and Jasmati.

American President

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