Nirapara is a brand of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

and spice powders manufactured by the KKR Group. The brand evolved from the K.K.R Mills which was established by K.K.R Karnan in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

in 1976. The company has been recently acquired by Wipro Consumer Care.

History

KKR Group was established by K. K. Karnan in the year 1976 as a small scale

rice mill A rice mill is a food-processing facility where paddy is processed to rice to be sold in the market. The entire product is procured from paddy fields, milled and processed hygienically in modern machinery and dust-free environment and cleaned t ...

factory located in the town of Okkal in

Kalady Kalady or Kaladi is a town located between Angamaly and Perumbavoor, east of the Periyar river, near to Malayattoor in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India, not far from Cochin International Airport. It is notable as the birthplace of 9th centu ...

, near

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...

. K. K. Karnan later expanded this venture into a modern rice processing mill. Rice varieties, spice powders, ready-to-eat and other food products manufactured by the company were all brought under one name, making Nirapara a food brand in South India. Nirapara products are exported from Kerala and are available in 32 other countries including the US, the UK, Canada, Far East and West Asia.

Products

Nirapara manufactures a wide range of products; their main specialties are rice, wheat flour products, and spice powders. include pickles, tava products, frozen foods, especially for exporting, and ready-to-eat items.

Rice

Different rice varieties are dried, separated from the husk and subjected to processing before being packaged. Rice varieties include

matta rice RoseMatta rice (also known as Palakkadan/Kerala Matta rice, or Kaje Rice) ( ml, കേരള മട്ട, Tulu:കജെ അരി) is an indigenous variety of rice grown in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India. It is known for its coarsen ...

, idly rice, ponni rice, surekha, jaya rice, cherumani, single boiled, and

jeerakasala Gandhakasala rice is a variety of rice cultivated by the farmers in Wayanad District in Kerala. This is a scented variety of rice grown mostly by the members of the tribal communities of in Panamaram, Sultan Bathery, and Mananthavady areas in Wa ...

rice among others.

Wheat flour products

Nirapara flour products include a wide variety of traditional Kerala rice and wheat flour products used for making traditional foods such as chappathi,

upma Upma, uppumavu, or uppittu is a dish originating from the Indian subcontinent, most common in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtrian, and Sri Lankan Tamil breakfast, cooked as a thick porridge from dry-roasted ...

appam Appam is a type of thin pancake originating from South India. It is made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk, traditionally cooked in an ''appachatti'', a deep pan similar in shape to a wok. It is common in the cusine of Kerala and Tam ...

, palappam,

puttu Puttu ( ml, പുട്ട്; ta, புட்டு; si, පිට්ටු) (pronounced ), alternatively spelled pittu ( ta, பிட்டு), is a dish native to the South Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and parts of Karnataka, ...

, idly, and

dosa Dosa may refer to: People * Bogoljub Mitić Đoša, Serbian actor * Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete * Dosa ben Harkinas * Dosa ben Saadia (935 - 1018), Talmudic scholar and philosopher * Dosa or Dossa Júnior * Edward Dosa-Wea Neufvil ...

idiyappam etc.

Spices and curry powders

To make the preparation of Indian curries easier, Nirapara launched the Nirapara Curry Masala brand with spices and

curry powder Curry powder is a spice mix originating from the Indian subcontinent where it is typically called garam masala. History Key ingredients of curry powder consist of ginger, garlic, fennel, mace, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric ...

s that are processed and packaged for distribution.

Controversy

KKR Group faced a controversy in September 2015, when the food safety commissioner banned the manufacture, sale, and distribution of the Nirapara chilli,

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...

, and

coriander Coriander (;

powder under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act of India, as the authorities found added starch in the spice powders. In October 2015, the

Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court has the power to iss ...

on Tuesday set aside the ban by the Food Safety Commissioner, as the samples were not found harmful for human consumption. In the absence of any harmful content, the court withdrew the ban imposed on the said spice powders facilitating its manufacture, sale, and distribution.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.nirapara.com Companies based in Kochi Indian companies established in 1976 Food and drink companies established in 1976 Food and drink companies of India Starch companies Rice production in India Multinational companies headquartered in India Privately held companies of India 1976 establishments in Kerala