II. Cereal based fermented sweets and snacks

1. Jilebi

2. Gulgule

3. Seera

4. Chhuchipatra pitha

5. Podopitha

6. Bhaturu

7. Kulcha

8. Chitou

9. Selroti

Other cereal based fermented foods - Manna, Kurdi, Thuktal, Aska, Anarshe,

Torani, Aenkadu/Askalu, Aet, Aktori, Baari, Babroo, Bhatooru, Chhangpa, Chhura, Doo,

Khatta, Khawalag, Mande/Manna, Malpude, Mangjangkori, Marpinni/Marjag, Patande,

Tchhoso roti, Tchog, Tcung, Thuktal, Tiskori, Sang, Shunali.

1. Jilebi

Place of origin/usage: South India.

Nature of food: Cereal based.

Time of consumption: Festival seasons.

Usual composition/ingredients: Wheat, sugar and curd.

Method of preparation of initial batter/raw materials: The batter is prepared using

refined wheat flour having 40-45% solids mixed with curd (2-3%) which is obtained by

auto fermentation of milk similar to yoghurt. The batter is allowed to ferment overnight.

Condition(s) of fermentation: Fermentation at an ambient condition (25-30°C), for 14 -

16 hours resulting in fermented batter which is thick but free flowing.

Microorganism(s) involved: L. fermentum, S. lactis, Lactobacillus buchneri S. faecalis

and Saccharomyces bayanus

Whether native fermentation or inoculum is added: Curd is used as an inoculum.

Method of cooking: The batter is filled into a jilebi forming device and by manually

operating the lever, the batter is extruded as, cylindrical strands of 6-8mm diameter on to

hot (175-180°C) vegetable oil. During the flow of batter, the hand held forming device

is moved in such a manner, to form two or three concentric circles (3-8cm diameter) of

the extended stands. These are deep fat fried till the crust becomes crisp and then the

product is removed and dipped for 2 min in warm sugar syrup (55-60°Brix) to get jilebi

having characteristic crisp crust and syrup core.

Changes in physical and chemical profile: The pH decreases from 4.4 to 3.3 and there is

a 9% volume increase in the batter. Both amino nitrogen and free sugar decrease during

fermentation

Reference(s): Ramakrishnan 1977, Prakash et al., 2004.

2. Gulgule

Place of origin/usage: Himachal Pradesh.

Nature of food: Cereal based.

Time of consumption: Religious and social ceremonies.

Usual composition/ingredients: Wheat flour and starter material (‘Malera’ – see the

chapter ‘Prepared Starter for fermented food production’).

Whether native fermentation or inoculum is added: Inoculum in the form of starter

‘Malera’ (previously fermented left over dough) is added.

Method of cooking: Wheat flour is made into viscous slurry by adding water, sugar and

‘Malera’ (starter). This sweetened slurry is made into small oval shape to be deep fried

in oil until brown.

Reference(s): Thakur et al., 2004.

3. Seera

Place of origin/usage: Himachal Pradesh.

Nature of food: Cereal based.

Time of consumption: Festival seasons.

Usual composition/ingredients: Wheat, sugar and ghee.

Method of preparation of initial batter/raw materials: Wheat grains are soaked in

water for 2-3 days so as to allow fermentation to occur by natural microflora. After 2-3

days the grains are ground, steeping is done to allow the starch grains and some proteins

to settle down and then bran is separated. Starch and proteins are removed and sundried.

Method of cooking: The dried material is made into slurry by soaking in water, which is

then poured into hot ghee, sugar is added and cooked.

Reference(s): Thakur et al., 2004.

4. Chhuchipatra pitha

Place of origin/usage: Orissa.

Nature of food: Cereal and pulse based.

Time of consumption: Festival times as snack.

Usual composition/ingredients: Par-boiled rice, black gram, coconut, sugar and curd.

Method of preparation of initial batter/raw materials: Batter is prepared similar to

Chakuli [See chapter Cereal based (with/without pulses) fermented foods, Item No: 15].

Whether native fermentation or inoculum is added: Curd is added as an inoculum.

Method of cooking: The fermented batter is flattened thin over a hot greased pan using a

spatula. The fillings of grated coconut, curd and sugar are taken in the centre of the

pancake. It is then folded into a square shape for frying.

Shelf life of food: Two days and is usually taken without any adjunct due to its sweet taste.

Reference(s): Roy et al., 2007(b).

5. Podo pitha

Place of origin/usage: Orissa.

Nature of food: Cereal and pulse based.

Time of consumption: Festivals Seasons (Bijoya dashami and Raja festivals).

Usual composition/ingredients: Par-boiled rice (Oryza sativa L.) and black gram

(Phaseolus mungo L.), minced coconut, raisins, cashew nuts and sugar.

Method of preparation of initial batter/raw materials: Batter is prepared similar to

chakuli. Fermented batter (as done for making chakuli) is mixed with minced coconut,

raisins, cashew nuts and sugar. The mixture is packed using Shorea robusta C.F.Gaertn.

(Sal) or banana (Musa paradisiaca L.) leaf.

Method of cooking: The packets are then covered all round with hot charcoal in an earthen

oven to bake in low but continuous heat for 5-10 hours. Completion of cooking is checked

by inserting a sharp object through the centre of the batter mass and observing if the batter

has stuck to the surface. No adherence of batter to the object indicates completion of

cooking even at the centre.

Shelf life of food: It has a shelf life of three days and is usually taken without a side dish.

Reference(s): Roy et al., 2007(b).

6. Bhaturu

Other names, if any: Indigenous bread.

Place of origin/usage: Himachal Pradesh.

Nature of food: Cereal based.

Time of consumption: Flat deep-fried, leavened bread product and consumed as a snack.

Usual composition/ingredients: Wheat and starter material (Khameer/ Malera – see the

chapter ‘Prepared Starter for fermented food production’).

Method of preparation of initial batter/raw materials: Wheat flour and water is mixed

along with starter (Khameer/ Malera) and is made into dough. Then, the dough is

fermented at 25-30°C for 7-8 hours or overnight.

Microorganism(s) involved: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Debaromyces hansenii and

Saccharomyces fermentati. Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus,

Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Lactococcus lactis.

Whether native fermentation or inoculum is added: Inoculum in the form of starter

‘Khameer/ Malera’ is added.

Method of cooking: The fermented dough is spread into a small chapatti (about 1cm thick)

and kept for 15-20 min. afterwards; the chapatti is deep fried in the vegetable oil

Reference(s): Tamang, 1998, Thakur et al., 2004; Kanwar et al., 2007.

7. Kulcha

Place of origin/usage: Northern India.

Nature of food: Cereal based.

Time of consumption: Snack.

Usual composition/ingredients: Wheat and the starter (Khameer/Malera – see the chapter

‘Prepared Starter for fermented food production’).

Method of preparation of initial batter/raw materials: It is prepared similar to Bhaturu.

Wheat flour and water is mixed along with starter (Khameer/ Malera) and is made into

dough. Then, the dough is fermented at 25-30°C for 7-8 hours or overnight.

Microorganism(s) involved: Saccharomyces sp., Candida sp., Hansenula sp.,

Saccharomycopsis sp., Kluveromyles sp., Rhodotorula sp., Pichia sp., Torulopsis sp.,

Trichosporon sp. and Debaromyces sp.

Whether native fermentation or inoculum is added: Inoculum in the form of starter

Khameer/Malera is added.

Method of cooking: They are fried on a griddle.

Reference(s): Parveen and Hafiz, 2003 and Thakur et al., 2004.

8. Chitou

Place of origin/usage: Orissa.

Nature of food: Cereals and pulse based.

Time of consumption: Festival seasons.

Usual composition/ingredients: Par-boiled rice (Oryza sativa L.) and black gram

(Phaseolus mungo L.).

Method of preparation of initial batter/raw materials: It is prepared from varying

proportions of par-boiled rice (Oryza sativa L.) and black gram (Phaseolus mungo L.).A

little amount of boiled rice may be added, and black gram may be substituted with juice

of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) or palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer L.)

fruit during summer. Rice is washed, soaked, dewatered and briefly sun-dried. Dried rice

grains are pounded in an iron or wooden mortar and sieved to obtain a fine powder. Black

gram is soaked until the seed coat is easily removable by applying a gentle pressure. The

grains are rubbed with hands to loosen seed coats, which are allowed to float away. The

black gram is then made to a smooth paste using a stone grinder. The paste is beaten

repeatedly by hands with a little amount of water and mixed with rice powder,

appropriate amount of lukewarm water and salt. The batter is left to ferment under cover

for 4-5 hours during summer (12-15 hours during winter).

Method of cooking: Fermented batter is mixed with sugar and grated coconut. It is then

taken in a special earthen mold or in deep bowl and covered with a lid. The junction is

closed with a wet cloth and water is sprinkled intermittently. It is fried on a low heat.

Method of consumption: Taken with curry, sugar, curd or tea.

Reference(s): Roy et al., 2007(b).

9. Selroti

Place of origin/usage: Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Nature of food: Cereal based.

Time of consumption: Confectionary.

Usual composition/ingredients: Rice, banana, honey, ghee and spices.

Method of preparation of initial batter/raw materials: Local variety of rice (Oryza sativa

L.) ‘Attey’ is sorted, washed, and soaked in cold water for overnight or 4 to 8 hours at

ambient temperature. Sometimes, milled rice is also used for Selroti preparation. Water is

then decanted from the rice by using bamboo made sieve called chalni and spread over a

woven tray made up of bamboo, locally called ‘naanglo’ and dried for 1 hour. Soaked rice

is pounded into coarse powder in a wooden mortar and pestle known as ‘okhali’ and

‘mushli’, respectively. Larger particles of pounded rice flour are separated from the rest by

winnowing in a bamboo tray. Then the rice flour is mixed with nearly 25% refined wheat

(Triticum aestivum L.) flour, 25% sugar, 10% butter or fresh cream and 2.5%

spices/condiments containing large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.), cloves

(Syzygium aromaticum Merr.), coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare

Mill.), nutmeg (Myristica Houtt.), cinnamon (Cinnamomumfragrans zeylanicum Bl.)

and small cardamom (Elletaria cardamomum Maton.), are added to the rice flour and

mixed thoroughly. Some people add tablespoon full of honey or unripe banana or baking

powder (sodium bicarbonate) to the mixture, depending on quantity of the mixture. Milk

(boiled/unboiled) or water is added, kneaded into a soft dough and finally into batter with

easy flow. Batter is left to ferment naturally at ambient temperature (20-28°C) for 2 to 4

hours during summer and at 10-18°C for 6-8 hours during winter.

Method of cooking: The oil is heated in a cast iron frying pan locally called ‘tawa’. The

fermented batter is squeezed by hand or daaru (metallic serving spoon), deposited as

continuous ring onto hot edible oil and fried until golden brown and is drained out from

hot oil by poker locally called jheer or suiro or also by a spatula locally called jharna.

Method of consumption: It is served as confectionary bread with boiled potato curry, pickle

prepared from string beans and meat. It can be served hot or cold.

Shelf life of food: It can be stored for two weeks at room temperature.

Reference(s): Tamang and Sarkar, 1988, Yonzan and Tamang, 2009.

The following fermented cereal based foods are also consumed traditionally by

the people of Orissa, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim (Blandino et al., 2003; Thakur et al.,

2004, Savitri and Bhalla, 2007).

Other fermented cereal based foods consumed traditionally by the people of Orissa,

Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim

Product Raw material Usage of food State

Manna Wheat Thin rotties Himachal Pradesh

Kurdi Wheat Salty noodles North India

Thuktal Barley Steamed cake Himachal Pradesh

Aska Rice - Himachal Pradesh

Anarshe Rice - North India

Torani Rice - Orissa

Aenkadu / askalu Rice flour Slurry Himachal Pradesh

Aet Wheat flour Thin rotties Himachal Pradesh

Aktori Wheat Thick rotties Himachal Pradesh

Baari Wheat flour Slurry Himachal Pradesh

Babroo Wheat flour Fried disk Himachal Pradesh

Bhatooru Wheat flour Rotties Himachal Pradesh

Chhangpa Roasted barley flour Solid dough Himachal Pradesh

Chhura Wheat flour Rotties Himachal Pradesh

Doo Roasted barley flour Solid dough Himachal Pradesh

Khatta Gram, walnut

powder Curry Himachal Pradesh

Khawalag Roasted barley flour Slurry Himachal Pradesh

Mande/Manna Wheat flour Thin rotties Himachal Pradesh

Malpude Wheat flour Fried disk Himachal Pradesh

Mangjangkori Buck wheat bran Thick rotties Himachal Pradesh

Marpinni/Marjag Roasted barley flour Sweet dish Himachal Pradesh

Patande Rice flour Thin rotties Himachal Pradesh

Tchhoso roti Kodra flour Thick rotties Himachal Pradesh

Tchog Roasted barley flour Hard balls Himachal Pradesh

Tcung Wheat flour Steamed cake Himachal Pradesh

Thuktal Roasted barley flour Steamed cake Himachal Pradesh

Tiskori Wheat bran Rotties Himachal Pradesh

Sang Wheat grains Thick soup Himachal Pradesh

Shunali Wheat flour Soft balls Himachal Pradesh