fermented foods | panta bhaat or pakhala or poita bhat : a fermented rice meal that can be a healing alternative to OTC probiotics...

Panta bhaat or pakhala bhaat is a fermented rice porridge that is eaten after fermenting the rice for about 8 hours minimum. The farmers find vigour from such foods even if the ingredients are frugal. An occasional fish fry or green vegetables can be added to a poor farmers summer meal of panta bhaat, but the green chilly and onion would be a permanent companion to this meal. Urban folk eat this panta bhaat for a light cooling meal, I say it is therapeutic for the system as well.

Cleansing type, detox food especially when had with raw onion and green chilies and some lime juice along with it.

This past summer I tried a few variations of panta bhaat to improve my gut flora and to keep my self cooler and these meals helped a lot. I found this meal to be a real treat when accompanied with a fired eggs, some cucumber and some light vegetable curry along. Here you see a ridge gourd and poppy seeds curry called jhinge posto, another Bengali specialty.

How to make panta bhaat...

To make panta bhat just cook rice normally as you do. Add water to the cooked (or even leftover) rice, mix well to make all rice grains separated (to allow uniform fermentation) and let it sit for at least 8 hours in Indian summers. You should get a pleasant sourish alcoholic aroma when the mixture ferments nicely. Any foul smell means the rice has putrefied and needs to be trashed.

Once fermented, you can refrigerate the panta bhaat for a couple of days if you made it in excess or let it become a bit more sour as per your liking. Garnish the fermented gruel with some chopped green chilly, raw baby onion and a little raw mustard oil (or extra virgin olive oil or toasted sesame oil), season with salt and have it with whatever accompaniments you like.

You wont find much online information if you search for such forgotten foods. Healing foods were a part of every household and parents and grandparents intuitively knew when to prepare such a meal for an ailing family member or when the season demands such meals for the whole family. Some fun accompaniments were served with such frugal meals so the interest in the healing meal is not lost. Interestingly I found that raw onions of the baby variety were a constant accompaniment with this gruel in all Indian states that I got to know, some green chilly also enhanced the probiotic and cooling property. Some kind of fried fritters and fish is also served to keep the interest in such a simple frugal meal going.

This article by Ena Desai throws some light on the 'culture' of panta bhaat. What flavors are added to this frugal meal and how some folks eat it with added jaggery too. I found a few recipes of Odiya origin called Pakhala and Konkani origin called Tanni anna , so glad a few bloggers are sharing traditional family recipes for the world. Vikram Doctor had done an article in Economic Times long back on this forgotten culture of food. The culture of food involved live cultures that heal the tummy and keep the gut flora healthy, cooling the body all at the same time.

The phytic acid (the anti nutrient responsible for non absorption of minerals present in the food) is denatured during fermentation process , making this fermented rice meal many times more nourishing than plain boiled rice. See the research by the team of Assam Agricultural University regarding panta bhaat being a nourishing food..

I am surprised I have so many Bong friends and no one actually fed me panta bhat ever. They keep raving about it but never ever serve it to guests, the reason being, it is a very frugal meal and is considered lowly for the purpose of entertaining a guest. I wish panta bhat becomes a part of an elaborate menu somewhere. I would love to taste the authentic version some day. Till then I am glad I can ferment at home. Yeast is my best friend.