FERMENTED PRODUCTS BASED ON RICE
Idli
Idli is a small, white acid – leavened, and steamed cake made by bacterial fermentation (12-18 hours) of a thick batter made from rice and dehulled blackgram dhal. Idlies are soft, moist and spongy had a desirable sour flavour. For idli, the rice was coarsely ground and the black gram was finely ground. The soft spongy texture observed in the leavened steamed idli made out of black gram is due to the presence of two components, namely surface active protein (globulin) and an arabinogalactan (polysaccharide) in black gram. The mucilaginous principle of blackgram is identified as arabinogalactan. It is believed that this mucilaginous principle helps in the retention of carbondioxide during the fermentation of the thick batter and is thus responsible for the soft spongy honey comb texture of the idli. Fermentation brings about physical and chemical changes in the idli batter. With the progress of fermentation there is an increase in batter volume, acidity and non protein nitrogen. |
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Dosa
Dosa is another common fermented product used in India. This is prepared from a fermented batter of rice and pulse in the proportions ranging from 6:1 to 10:1. Both the ingredients are finely ground, unlike in the idli batter which contains the rice component in a coarse consistency. The dosa batter is very thin and dosa is baked on a hot pan. The thickness of a thin pancake depends upon the consistency of the batter. Thin batter gives a thin pancake, although it may stick to the pan. |
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Dhokla
Dhokla is a fermented food prepared from rice and bengal gram. This is popular in West India, particularly Gujarat. This is prepared from a batter of coarsely ground rice and bengal gram. The fermented batter is steamed in a pie dish, cut into diamond shape and seasoned.
Other fermented products
Some other fermented foods based on rice used in the country are ambali, prepared from a thick fermented batter of finger millet flour and rice, ganji, fermented, surplus water from cooked rice and fermented rice or kali which is left over cooked rice to which water is added and the mixture allowed to ferment overnight. |
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