‘Poita bhat’ or ‘pazhamkanji’: India’s fermented rice finds its place under the sun

‘Masterchef Australia’ is late to the party. India’s fermented rice dishes, from Bengal’s ‘poita bhat’ to Kerala’s ‘pazhamkanji’, have long been moving up the culinary ladder from farms to restaurants, as gourmets discover their many benefits

Pantha bhat, trending after it was featured in Masterchef Australia by contestant Kishwar Chowdhury, is known by many names in India — poita bhat (Assamese), pakhala bhat (Odiya), pazhaya sadam (Tamil), geel bhat (Bihar), chaddannam (Telugu) and pazhamkanji (Malayalam). Call it what you will, but fermented rice is comfort food for many in India and in Southeast Asia. Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam have their own versions. Author and academic Krishnendhu Ray, associate professor of Food Studies at New York University, says there are three reasons for the popularity of fermented food in general and rice in particular. “One, the idea of a national cuisine is passé. We know that there are regional and sub-regional cuisines. Two, the 21st Century has seen the death of the taste for cold and sweet in the American century of taste. Realising the ill-effect of sodas and colas, people are going for tepid and sour foods. Three, studies have shown that gut health is closely related to the immune system, health, and mental health. Earlier, the ambition was to boil and cook everything to kill all microbes. But now, we know that certain microbes are necessary for our health. Fermented food is rich in microbes, yeast, and mould, all necessary for our health.”