Panta bhat

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Panta Bhat or PoitaBhat (

Rice researcher Mahabub Hossain of International Rice Research Institute explains that in the past, people engaged in farm work preferred bold and brown rice which is more suited for watered rice, and also provides more nutrition. But, as more people shifted to urban centers the demand for farm work, brown rice and watered rice decreased. In these times of polished rice, the popularity of rice varieties like Lal Swarna and White Swarna is often driven by their suitability for panta bhat.^[6]

Preparation

There are many variations of the dish though all are made by soaking cooked rice in water overnight. Rice is boiled the usual way. Then phaen or starch is strained away. Rice is cooled in air temperature for 3–4 hours. Then cool water is added in a way that about an inch of water rises above the rice. Rice is generally covered with a light piece of fabric. 12–24 hours later panta bhat is ready. Panta bhat retains its taste for 2/3 days. The fluid portion is called amani or torani, and may be specially prepared.^[7] Care must be taken to cover the dish during the long soaking to avoid contamination.^[8]

The soaked rice is usually eaten in the morning with salt,

A similar dish consumed in the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh is known as Pakhala (also pakhal, pokhalo or pakhal bhat). It differs from panta bhat in seasoning as yoghurt is sometimes added prior to the fermentation process.^[13] Pazhedhu saadham, meaning "old rice", of Tamil Nadu is another variation of the dish.^[14] It is consumed in East and South East Asia as well, and is known as Jiuniang in China.

Popularity

Panta bhat is especially popular in rural areas,^[15][16] generally served with salt, raw onion and green chili.^[17] It is usually served as breakfast,^[16] though noon or evening consumption is not uncommon.^[18][19] Panta bhat and other low nutrition food are consumed as fillers between meals.^[20] Panta bhat is one of the cool dishes popular in Bengal, meaning it helps keep cool during the summer.^[21] This cold and wet food, is suitable for summer mornings, but in winter dry foods, such as chira (flattened rice) and muri (puffed rice) are preferred.^[22]

In Bangladesh,

In a study conducted by agricultural biotechnology department of the Assam Agricultural University it was concluded that cooked rice had an element that prevented the availability of minerals like iron, potassium, sodium and calcium in high quantities, and the breakdown of the nutritional inhibitor by the lactic acid bacteria increased the mineral content manifolds. According to Madhumita Barooah, one of the researchers, "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, after 12 hours of fermentation of the same quantity of rice."^[42] According to another study (ILSI 1998), fermentation improves the bioavailability of minerals such as iron and zinc as a result of phytic acid hydrolysis, and increases the content of riboflavin and vitamin B.^[43]

Panta bhat has some remedial use. It is considered as a "cold food" by Ayurveda traditions, while boiled rice is neutral. Hence is a preferred food for children with a fever.^[44] Panta bhat also contains a small amount of alcohol as a result of fermentation.^[45] When the conditions of preparing panta bhat — keeping rice soaked overnight in water — were simulated in the laboratory, the rice was found to be inoculated with veratridine, a steroid-derived alkaloid.^[46]

Despite its nutritional and remedial values, panta bhat is often contaminated, with almost 90% of the samples containing

• List of rice dishes
• Assamese cuisine
• Bengali cuisine
• Pakhala

References