An Overview of Traditional Rice Beer of North-East India: Ethnic Preparation, Challenges and Prospects
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Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol 18 (4), October 2019, pp 744-757 An overview of traditional rice beer of North-east India: ethnic preparation, challenges and prospects Nandita Nath, Sushanta Ghosh, Lovely Rahaman, David Lalbhovika Kaipeng & BK Sharma* ,+ Microbial Ecology Lab, Department of Microbiology, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar 799 022, Tripura, India E-mail: [email protected] Received 08 January 2019; revised 24 July 2019 Fermented drinks are always found to be connected with the culture and existence of the ethnic tribes throughout the world. Traditional rice beer of North-east India is an indispensible part of tribal life style attached culturally and religiously with them. There are more than 150 major tribes in Northeast India and almost all are having a traditional way of preparing rice beer from time immemorial. The present paper is a comparative review on the methods of preparing rice beer by some popular tribes of Northeastern India. The methodology they use is found to be unique in many senses from rest of the world. The uniqueness not only lies in the starter culture preparation, which is the prime source of yeast but also in the other ingredients like indigenous plant species and rice varieties used as substrate resulting variation in taste and aroma. Almost all the traditional rice beer has unique soothing taste, aroma, colour and nutritional as well as therapeutic values having significant role in their socio cultural lives. In the present scenario the tradition is fading and facing lots of challenges. But, still the traditional rice beer has got lots of scope for its scientific up-gradation and commercialization. Keywords : Alcoholic beverage, Ethnic tribes, North-east India, Traditional brewing, Yeast IPC Code : Int. Cl. 19 : A23L 2/38, A61K 36/00, C12C 13/02, A23J 1/18 The North-east India can be physiographically also in the serving procedure and serving protocol. categorized into North-east hills, Brahmaputra and Moreover, variations are also been observed even in Barak valley plains and Eastern Himalayas. This serving bowls and dishes for consuming the rice beer region is having very remarkable climate with mostly tradition wise (bamboo receptacle, bamboo pipe, mud humid, sub-tropical with hot summer. Moreover, it utensils, banana leaf etc). also has severe monsoons and mild winter 1. This The processes of preparation of rice beer begin region is consisting of eight different states namely with the making of starter culture for fermentation. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Starter culture are traditionally made and preserved in Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The North- a semi sterilized medium. Usually a gluten ground east India is inhabited by many ethnic tribes having rice of local variety mixed with a number of plant diverse customs and lifestyles with difference in their parts having medicinal properties to make the starter preparation and consumption of fermented rice beer 2. cake 2. The methodologies of fermentation followed The occurrence of ethnic rice beer preparation and its by different tribes of these areas are not similar in varieties in consumption might have emerged due to many respects. Local rice varieties used as substrate varied climatic conditions and utilization of locally for the preparation of starter cakes along with some available natural resources 3. Each tribe has their own local plant and ingredients owes different appearance, age old traditional rituals and believes and they follow taste and aroma along with medicinal properties 4. The the same while preparing the starter cultures and starter cakes are the source of amylolytic enzymes, fermentation of rice beer. The methodology of starter starch degrading moulds, lactic acid bacteria cake preparation and time of incubation for batch and alcohol producing yeasts 5. Several microbes culture of rice beer are significantly different among have been isolated like Mucor circinelloides, the tribes. However, it varies from one week to three Rhus chinensis, Saccharomycopsis fibuligera, months. There is variation not only in preparation but Saccharomycopsis capsularis and Pichia burtonii ————— having amylolytic properties. Many ethanol *Corresponding author producing bacteria also have been isolated like NATH et al. : AN OVERVIEW OF TRADITIONAL RICE BEER OF NORTH-EAST INDIA: ETHNIC PREPARATION, 745 CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS Saccharomysis bayanus, Corchorus glabrata and Jou bishi/Jumai, a rice beer prepare by Boro tribe Pichia anomala 6,7 along with lactic acid bacteria like- of Assam. The starter culture which they used to Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis and prepare Jou is locally known as Angkur. First the rice Pediococcus pentosaceus 8. is boiled and cooled and then kept for dried up. Angkur is added to it and kept it for whole night. The Preparation of rice beer in different Northeast mixture is kept in an earthen pot after adding a little India at a glance amount of water at least for 3 to 4 days for Arunachal Pradesh: The state of Arunachal fermentation. After fermentation, the mass is mixed Pradesh was established on February 1987 , having with water and filtered to get the liquor 2. 20 districts, the land area of the state is 83,743 km 2 Hor-Alank is a traditional rice beer of Karbi tribe and having 110 local ethnic communities 9. of Assam. They prepare Hor-Alank by fermenting Geographically, this is the largest state among all the cooked rice and are mixed with locally prepared yeast North-eastern states of India. The people native to the cake powder called Thap. The distilled Hor-Alank is state traces their origins from the Tibeto-Burman called Hor-Arak. The starter culture Thap is people. The climatic condition is humid and traditionally prepared by using leaves of Marthu subtropical with sufficient rainfall. Kala-Apang is a (Croton joufra Roxb .) and water-soaked rice. Leaves traditional alcoholic beverage prepared by Adi Galos of locally available plants like Amomum tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. The starter culture is corynostachyum Wall, Acacia pennata Willd are also known as Kshai. For preparing Apang, first they burnt used in the preparation of starter culture. Cooked rice the rice husk till it become black in color. Then boiled is spread on bamboo mat (Antar), cooling and mixed rice is spread on a bamboo mat called Peche and burnt with adequate amount of powdered starter cake rice husk is mixed with it in 1:1 ratio. Kshai powder is (Thap) and stored in Tebuk (pot) or Pho-le (cooking mixed with and put it in a big container covers with utensil). The mixture is then kept for fermentation for locally available oko leaves ( Phrynium pubinerve ) three days in summer and four days in winter. An and kept it for 20 days for fermentation. Perpur, a adequate amount of water is added with fermented bamboo made funnel is used for filtration and oko mass and allowed to remain for one more night (act of leaves is used as filter 2. addition of water is called Hor Kangthur). Next day Ennog is another traditional black rice beer Hor arak (alcohol) is distilled from it 11 . prepared by almost every Adi Galo tribal household for regular use. Ennog is also used in religious Sujen, a rice beer is prepared by Deori tribe and the ceremonies and festivals. It is often sold in local starter culture they used is known as Mod-pitha. Mod- market. For Ennog preparation rice is cooked and pitha is prepared by mixing rice powder with different mixed with burn husk and kept for 4-5 days for powdered plant parts (Table 1) and an amount of fermentation. After fermentation extract are previously made old Mod-pitha is added to it which consumed directly as black beer. acts as an inoculant. Cooked rice is mixed with powdered Mod pitha and spread on a bamboo mat and Assam: The state of Brahmaputra valley and hills and covered with banana leaves overnight. Next day the plains (Assam) established in 1972, having 32 mixture is poured to a sterilized earthen pot (Koloh) districts and a total land area of 78,438 km 2 having and the mouth of the pot is wrapped tightly with a two categories of tribal population, ST (Hills) and ST banana leaves and kept for fermentation for 3-4 days (Plains) together having approx more than 20 major in summer and 1 week in winter. Meya (a profuse whitish froth) formed after fermentation. Sujen is tribes in total. Assam is the second largest state of 12 North-eastern region of India. The geographical filtered for consumption after adding water in to it . location and climatic conditions of this state supports Jonga Mod, a rice beer prepared by Rabha tribe of the practice of traditional brewing among different Goalpara district of Assam. Starter culture for ethnic groups of Assam. The procedure of preparation preparing Jonga mod is known as Bakhor, Surachi or of rice beer and associated starter culture is almost Phap. Paste of soaked rice is mixed with some dry same among different tribes, but the plant materials powdered plant species (Table 1) and an amount of used to prepare starter culture is different. Some of old powdered rice cake is also mixed as inoculants the major tribes of Assam are Boro, Karbi, Deori, into the mixture before preparing the cake. For Ahom, Rabha, Mising and Sonowal 10 . preparation of Jonga mod rice is cooked and mixed 746 INDIAN J TRADIT KNOW, OCTOBER 2019 Table 1 — List of some indigenous plant species used to prepare rice beer by different tribes of Northeast India. State Tribe Rice Beer Starter culture Plant used to prepare the Starter culture Reference Assam Ahom Sajpani & Vekur pitha Centella asiatica Bhuyan et al. 2013 Laopani Cinnamonum bejolghota Cissampelos pareira Cledendrum viscosum Croton caudatus Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides Lygodium flexuosum Naravelia zeylanica Oryza sativa Pteridium aquilinum Piper nigrum Sida rhombifolia Smilax perfoliata Boro Jou bishi Angkur Clerodendrum viscosum Bhuyan et al.