FROM PADDY TO FLAT RICE (CHIRA)

Two more videos that show the process (see below):

On the left behind the Mataji is the container of paddy.

There are two wooden burners, one beside the other, both burning 🔥 at a fairly high heat. The Mataji puts raw paddy in the first frying pan to begin warming it up. At some point that warmed-up paddy is transferred to the second frying pan.

Just before that warmed-up paddy starts to burst like popcorn (some do pop) she transfers it to a wooden container where it gets pounded by a large piece of wood, OMBOK in Khmer, or large grinding mortar that use to be done using the legs but now they use electricity.

Each pouncing on the paddy with that wooden grinding mortar has to follow a rhythmic stirring of the paddy by the Mataji as the husk gets separated from the rice.

Then the flat rice, still mixed with the husk, gets put into another container (the red one that is shaking) to separate the husk from the flat rice.

At least that is what we can observe. Then it is packed and ready to sell.