All about rice and its cooking

I always had an impression that rice is just rice. Cook anything you want would work. Offlate with the help of few online friends realised that every step in cooking rice is very important and has a meaning.
Here's few of my observation and understanding.

Types of rice:

Sona masoori
Nirapara rose matta
Basmathi rice

How important is washing your rice before cooking it??? 

Nirapara rose matta rice:  This rice is supposed to be very nutritious as it is not polished, and the bran is rich in b complex. So do not wash it too much, just once is enough, so my understanding for rice with bran is not to wash too much.

Kerala Rice: Drink the extra water left after cooking rice . Having it the next day is considered to be even more nutritious cos it will have good bacteria in it. Only for kerala rice and not for all.

These days there is a concern about Arsenic(which is present in the soil naturally) content in rice. So soak for about 15-20 mins and then rinse thorougly 3 times and then cook

Soak well and rinse once or twice.

Most of the best rice is properly aged so water will not be milky. But if rice isn't aged properly rinsing will emit milky and starchy residue.

Best is to soak for 5 mins, rinse once and then discard the excess water after cooking with a strainer, and rinse again with cold water. This way rice will not be sticky too and starchy.

How about ppl who cook rice in a pressure cooker? 

Eating pressure cooking rice will give one a fat belly and high glucose in their blood. Never make rice in cooker, always strain the rice to make it lighter and remove the starch. Sona masoori, basmati/ surti kolam/ Gai kolam/ brown rice/ wild rice etc is good for daily use by washing, (pre soaking in some cases), and then cooking with excess water in an uncovered vessel on high heat and draining away the starch once cooked. Jasmine rice is flavored so washing is not advised. However we don't use jasmine rice in much of our Indian cooking daily.

Reference links:

1) http://www.sagevfoods.com/MainPages/Rice101/Cooking.htm
2) http://www.finecooking.com/articles/how-to/cook-rice-perfectly.aspx
3) http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-03/features/ct-food-1003-rice-arsenic-cooking-tips-20121003_1_arsenic-rice-consumption-cooked-rice
4) http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/10/arsenic-in-rice
5) ttps://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=kjKwVJH0E8yy8wfMooI4#q=arsenic+in+sona+masuri+rice
6) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice