Panta Bhat, Bengli style fermented rice
4:46 AM
In the
80’s when we were growing up summer vacation was a long affair, at least in the university town of Santiniketan that I call home. Those days in that land of
red laterite soil, with no ac and frequent power cuts summer, was dry and
dreaded. The only respites we had were the drenched khaskhas curtains and big
bowlfuls of Panta bhat.
Panta
bhat or slightly fermented overnight soaked rice has been a way of life in
Rural Bengal. I believe the association goes back to the time when we
discovered this grain and started consuming it. As fermentation expert Sandor
Ellix Katz puts it, “Fermented foods were not exactly human inventions; they
are natural phenomena that people observed and then learned how to
cultivate." Following that preparing, Panta bhat was a mere way of saving
the leftover rice for another meal.
Which
turned out to have amazing properties of cooling down the body in Summer and
keeping one hydrated and nourished for long. Something that our forefathers
understood long ago and consuming panta bhat was made a part of life through
many folktales and customs.
Similarly,
On the last day of Durga Puja, The Goddess is sent off to her home with a meal
of Panta bhat and in our neighboring state of Orissa, Pakhala bhat is offered
to Lord Jagannath as part of bhog. It has always been a part of our culture and
ancient wisdom, but sadly for the urban people, the tradition
never picked up and got confined to that one day only.
So Glad
that, Food researchers like Madhumita Barooah found out that, "About 100 gm of cooked rice has only 3.4 mg of iron, while for
the same quantity of rice fermented for 12 hours, the iron content went up to
73.91 mg. Likewise, sodium, which was 475 mg came down to
303 mg, potassium went up to 839 mg and calcium went up from
21 mg per 100 gm of cooked rice to 850 mg,." Or in simpler terms, fermentation helps
in denaturing the phytic acid and improves the bioavailability of minerals and
increases the content of riboflavin (very important for overall good health)
and vitamin B. Which is amazing information to get someone started on this
frugal meal.
With
our roots and most relatives still living in the rural Midnapore and 24
parganas, panta bhat is a staple for us but I can still remember as kids we
could not flaunt a meal of Panta bhat like the way I could today. It was
considered as peasant food and lowly, that only poor people consumed. No matter
how much I tried to convince them I was often taunted for my love of this
humble cooling porridge were subjected to many jokes but somehow that could
never deter us from having it. Come summer and couple of times every week maa
would set leftover cooked rice to soak overnight for a lightly fermented meal.
She would prepare a few simple side dishes for this meal along with young
coconut strips and onion. And at mealtime for a change, we would have our meal
in utter silence and head straight for a siesta afterward.
With so
much interest and knowledge sharing about food, the situation has definitely
changed nowadays. One can see there is some interest around panta bhat as well. I often see posts on an
elaborate panta bhat spread or write-ups by fellow foodies spreading the
awareness and making it popular. What makes me more happy that popular food
joints are trying to make interesting versions of it for the urbane foodies.
I was
taken aback when I found that Pakhala bhat is served in most Odia upmarket
restaurants in Bangalore. It was another revelation when fellow blogger buddies
shared their own fermented rice stories from a different culture. Like Sathis who
is from Sri Lanka and writes a blog called Taste Pot, told me about Palaya Soru, where Palaya means old and soru is
rice. This day old soaked rice is mixed with curd, curry leaves, green chilies,
asafetida, etc and served with numerous sides like pickles, curd chilies, fish
fry, etc.
 |
| Oriya Tonka Torani by Priyanka |
For
Priyanka of Treasure of food Who chronicles about Oriya food on Instagram, Pakhala bhat nudges a
lot of memories of her childhood days spent with her grandparents on the banks
of river Mahanadi. In those hot humid days, her grandma who is an avid cook would serve them Pakhal bhat with tiger prawns curry from the river. She still
considers that one of the best meals of her life.
Preeti
of My UK Kitchen, shared another similar fermented dish called ambil where
jowar is mixed with yogurt and fermented overnight. Later this is tempered
with ginger and green chilies and mixed with more buttermilk to serve as
cooling nourishing summer drink.
Delving
deep into it have revealed that some form of it is found in all the rice eating
states and even other countries. In Assam Poita bhat is as popular as
Pazhankanji or saddannam in down South.
Just
across the river in Bangladesh, apart from being a staple for the farmers, this
is hugely popular during the month of Boisakh and their Poila Boisakh (Bengali
new year) ceremony is never complete without a bowl of Panta, myriad bhortas
(mashed veggies and proteins) and fried Hilsa fish.
 |
| Khao Chae, Thailandtatler.com |
A
distant counterpart is even found in Thailand where rice is soaked in scented
water and served with many accompaniments (khao chae). In China fermented sweet rice or Jiu Niang is eaten as a
sweetened breakfast porridge and is even used for preserving seasonal produce.
But
that one common thread, that runs through these cultures are the
accompaniments. Panta bhat or in whatever name you call it, does not taste good
unless the accompaniments are right. Here I see many a people raising their
brows. Thinking to themselves how peasants survived an entire day only with
onion and chilies and here I am trying to glorify the panta with many
accompaniments.
Right you are. They often ate it with a piece
of raw onion and some mustard oil. But that crunch of the onion sure provided
some textural interest to the mushy rice and the zing of the mustard oil
complemented the slightly sour and salty taste of the meal. Even a meager meal
like this unknowingly had taken into account the texture and flavours that
complement each other.
Though
the most famous pairing comes as panta and alu makha/ mawla, but depending on
regions and homes a number of other elements are served along with it. For eg.
In our home following our Midnapore roots, Bori chura (crispy fried sundried
lentil pellets mashed with onion and chilies), crunchy fried tiny shrimps,
which are available in plenty in the waterlogged farmland during rice
cultivation or simply some mashed finely chopped onions with fire roasted red
chilies are a must have. Another popular combination in Midnapore is sprinkling
some Muri over the mashed rice. It provides some textural variation and imparts
a nice soothing aroma to the rice. One combination that I personally do not care much is the famous one from the movie Namkeen, “ Panta Bhate Tatka begun
pora) -Panta bhat with Begun pora or fire roasted brinjal with onion and
chilies. The options are endless depending on the resources you have. But no
matter how you pair it the end results are always delicious.
And
when I say the end taste I refer to the remaining rice water that is left
in the bowl, after you finish eating the rice. The water picks up each and
every flavour that you pair your panta with. The tang from the Gandhoraj lemon,
The spiciness of the chilies, the zingy flavour of the raw mustard oil, salt
and that very earthy aroma of muri. Slurping that deliciousness at the end is
ambrosial. Something that we kids fought for from Maa’s bowl because for us she
mashed and mixed the panta the best.
Not
only that, this rice water or Amani is a base for a soothing cooling drink in
Bengal and Orissa too. In Bengal this slightly fermented water is mixed with
phyan or cooked rice water and left to ferment in an earthen pot. And is served
with a squeeze of lime and salt.
In
Orissa the Amani is mixed with yogurt or buttermilk and flavoured with ginger
and lemon leaves. These were part of our ancient drinks and kept us cool during
the absence of refrigeration. We in the urban jungle might have lost touch but Luckily for us in a world far removed from this
urban lifestyle with packaged drinks and superfoods, some people still follow
this ancient knowledge and keep the tradition alive.
So
what's your excuse of not having this fermented rice this summer? I might not
help with any other dilemma but if you want some recipes I for sure can chip
in.
Do
check the recipes in my next post.
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