Effect of degree of milling on physicochemical, structural, pasting and cooking properties of short and long grain Indica rice cultivars

•Properties of different Indica rice varied with DOM and cultivars.•After 8% DOM the reduction in protein is 5.8%, lipid is 87.88% and mineral is 89.13%.•Concentration of various constituents differs amid branny layers for both cultivars.•The pasting parameters measured by Rheometer and Mixolab were correlated.•Cooking quality of rice can be predicted using pasting parameters. The effects of degree of milling (DOM) between 0 and 8% on physico-chemical, structural, pasting and cooking properties of short and long grain Indica rice cultivars were studied. Ash, protein, lipids and minerals decreased while blue value and crystallinity increased with increase in DOM. The colour parameters (a∗, b∗) and cooking time (CT) decreased while L∗(lightness) increased with increase in DOM. Elongation ratio (ER), gruel solid loss (GSL), length/breadth (L/B) and paste viscosities during cooking increased with increase in DOM. Short grain rice contained lower ash, protein, lipids, Mn, K, Ca, CT and GSL than long grain while the later showed higher crystallinity, Mn, P, K, Ca and ER. Paste and dough characteristics measured using Rheometer and Mixolab, respectively correlated well and differed with cultivar and DOM. Short and long grain cultivars showed variation in loss of different chemical constituents during varied DOM causing variation in cooking characteristics.