ETHNOBOTANY OF BAKHAR USED TO PREPARE RICE BEER (HARIA) IN PASCHIM MEDINIPUR, WEST BENGAL, INDIA

Abstract

Rice is the one of the major adjunct materials used in brewing beer in the USA, China and Japan. Some brewers prefer rice, because it has lower oil content than corn grits. In India, mostly in tribal dominated areas rice is used in beer preparation. In Paschim-Medinipur, there are many tribal groups who prepare their own local brew using rice grains as the substrate, known as handia or haria. The rice grain is fermented in to haria. For this fermentation and flavouring a unique starter culture is necessary known as ‘bakhar’ or ‘Rice Beer Cake’. This is also used as flavoring and stability agent of beer. People belonging to different tribal groups prepare this bakhar in the form of tablets. To prepare this bakhar tablets tribal people generally use 18 (eighteen) plant species as ingredients depending on their availability mostly collected from local forest areas. Among these 18 plant species 14 plant species are usually used by the ojhas i.e. the tribal medicine men in the folk medicine for different ailments.