Basmati is a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice which is traditionally grown in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. According to the Indian Government agency APEDA, a rice variety is eligible to be called basmati if it has a minimum average precooked milled rice length of 6.61 mm (0.260 in) and average precooked milled rice breadth of up to 2 mm (0.079 in), among other parameters.

Basmati rice is believed to have been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for centuries. Basmati grains contain about 0.09 ppm of this aromatic chemical compound naturally, a level that is about 12 times as much as non-basmati rice varieties, giving basmati its distinctive fragrance and flavour.