The interrelation between thermal behaviour and pasting properties in malted rice, affected by time/temperature of germination, was established using multivariate analysis. Two paddy cultivars, low (RLA) and normal amylose (RNA) were germinated at 30 and 35 degrees C for120 h. Thermal behaviour from DSC plots (onset, peak and conclusion temperatures) of rice increased with germination time; RNA showed a higher decrease in pasting properties compared to RLA. A biphasic pasting curve for malted RLA indicated amylose-lipid complex formation during heating. This complex resulted in increasing trends of all DSC parameters. The principal component analysis biplots of RLA at both temperatures showed that the position of amylose was loaded away from the vicinity of pasting and thermal properties; in RNA, amylose content was in the neighbourhood of these properties. Inter -relationship between the pasting and thermal behaviour of malted rice existed; the information might help for developing malted rice -based weaning and functional foods.