 Nepalese chhaang brewed from rice | |
| Type | Rice beer |
|---|---|
| Region of origin | Nepal, Tibet |
| Ingredients | Rice |
Chhaang or chhyang (Tibetan : ཆང་, Wylie : chang, Nepali : छ्याङ, Newar : थो:) is a Nepalese and Tibetan alcoholic beverage also popular in parts of the eastern Himalayas, Yakkha, Limbu, Dura, Newar, Sunuwar, Rai, Gurung, Magar, Sherpa, Tamang and Lepcha communities. Among the Lepcha, it is called Chi. [1] It is also known as jaarh in Nepal. [2]
Chhaang is consumed by the ethnically Tibetan, Ladakhi and Nepalese, and to a lesser degree, by the people of the neighboring nations of Pakistan and Bhutan. It is usually drunk at room temperature in summer, but is often served piping-hot in brass bowls or wooden mugs when the weather is colder. The Limbu people of eastern Nepal call the drink Tongba. [3] [4]
Chhaang is a relative of beer. Barley, millet (finger-millet) or rice grains are used to brew the drink. Semi-fermented seeds of millet are served, stuffed in a barrel of bamboo called a dhungro. Boiling water is then poured in and sipped through a narrow-bore bamboo tube called a pipsing.
When the boiled barley has cooled, some yeast or dried barm is added and it is left to stand for two or three days after fermentation begins. This concoction is called glum. The barm consists of flour and, in Balti, often has ginger and aconite added to it. [5] : 341 After fermentation is complete, water is added to the brew and it is then ready for consumption. [6]
In Lahaul the glum is pressed out by hand instead of by filtering, yielding a rather cloudy drink. The residue of malt can be pressed through a strainer and then mixed with water or milk and used in baking bread or cakes. [5] : 154
Near Mount Everest of Nepal, chhaang is made by passing hot water through fermenting barley, and is then served in a large pot and drunk through a wooden straw. [7]
This beverage is similar to the traditional drink of the Limbus, mandokpenaa thee. [8]
Nepalese jand refers to the turbid liquor which is obtained by leaching out the extract with water from the fermented mash. Unlike chhang or tongba, jand is served in large mugs. These alcoholic beverages are generated using a traditional starter called murcha. Murcha itself is prepared by using yeast and mold flora of wild herbs in cereal flours. [9]
The plant name Aconite may refer to two plant genera in the family Ranunculaceae, namely Aconitum and Eranthis , although Eranthis is known more usually as Winter Aconite. The plants used in the brewing of Chhaang in Baltistan and Ladakh are, however, almost certainly referable to Aconitum species - notably the local Aconitum ferox - which have a long history of use in the folk medicinal systems of Asia. [10] [11] Aconitum species are amongst the most virulently poisonous plants known, containing a variety of extremely toxic alkaloids, including aconitine and pseudaconitine.
The use of Aconitum as an additive in beer-brewing is therefore a practice fraught with the danger of fatal poisoning and should on no account be undertaken by any individual attempting to replicate a traditional Chhaang recipe. Although individual Aconitum species vary somewhat in the degree of their toxicity, all are poisonous and, when used in traditional herbal medicine, are invariably pre-treated in various ways intended to minimise their toxicity, while retaining their assumed therapeutic properties. Nevertheless, numerous fatalities have occurred resulting from such medicinal use e.g. in certain Chinese medicinal soups consumed for their supposed tonic effects, which include augmenting physical strength, boosting the immune system, and dispelling 'wind' and 'dampness'. [12]
Chhaang is said to be the best remedy to ward off the severe cold of the mountains. It reputedly has many healing properties for conditions like the common cold, fevers, allergic rhinitis, and alcoholism among others.
According to legend, chhaang is also popular with the Yeti, or Himalayan Snowmen, who often raid isolated mountain villages to drink it. [13]
Drinking and making offerings of chhaang are part of many pan-Tibetan social and religious occasions, including settling disputes, welcoming guests, and wooing. [14]
There is a long history of alcoholic drinks in China. They include rice and grape wine, beer, whisky and various liquors including baijiu, the most-consumed distilled spirit in the world.
The Limbu or Yakthung (endonym) are a Tibeto-Burman ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Himalayan region of eastern Nepal, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, northern West Bengal, and western Bhutan.
The Lepcha are among the indigenous peoples of the Indian state of Sikkim and Nepal, and number around 80,000. Many Lepcha are also found in western and southwestern Bhutan, Darjeeling, the Koshi Province of eastern Nepal, and in the hills of West Bengal. The Lepcha people are composed of four main distinct communities: the Renjóngmú of Sikkim; the Dámsángmú of Kalimpong, Kurseong, and Mirik; the ʔilámmú of Ilam District, Nepal; and the Promú of Samtse and Chukha in southwestern Bhutan.
Makgeolli, sometimes anglicized to makkoli, is a Korean alcoholic drink. It is a milky, off-white, and lightly sparkling rice wine that has a slight viscosity, and tastes slightly sweet, tangy, bitter, and astringent. Chalky sediment gives it a cloudy appearance. As a low proof drink of six to nine percent alcohol by volume, it is often considered a "communal beverage" rather than hard liquor.
Korean cuisine has a wide variety of traditional alcoholic drinks, known as sul (술). Many of these drinks end with the Sino-Korean word -ju, and some end with the native Korean word -sul. The Sino-Korean -ju is not used as an independent noun.
Aconitum ferox is a member of the monkshood genus Aconitum of the Ranunculaceae. The common name by which it is most often known in English is Indian Aconite, while the Hindi names used by practitioners of Ayurveda include वत्सनाभvatsanabha and महाविषाmahavisha.
Purposeful production of alcoholic drinks is common and often reflects cultural and religious peculiarities as much as geographical and sociological conditions.
Raksi (Devanagari:रक्सी) or Rakshi is the Nepali term for a traditional distilled alcoholic beverage in Nepal, India and Tibet. It is often made at home.
Nepali cuisine comprises a variety of cuisines based upon ethnicity, alluvial soil and climate relating to cultural diversity and geography of Nepal and neighboring regions of Sikkim and Gorkhaland. Dal-bhat-tarkari is eaten throughout Nepal. Dal is a soup made of lentils and spices, bhat — usually rice but sometimes another grain — and a vegetable curry, tarkari. Condiments are usually small amounts of spicy pickle which can be fresh or fermented, mainly of dried mustard greens and radish and of which there are many varieties. Other accompaniments may be sliced lemon (nibuwa) or lime (kagati) with fresh green chilli and a fried papad and also Islamic food items like rice pudding, sewai, biryani etc. Dhindo (ढिंडो) is a traditional food of Nepal. A typical example of Nepali cuisine is the Chaurasi Byanjan set where bhat (rice) is served in a giant leaf platter (patravali) along with 84 different Nepali dishes each served on small plates. It is mostly fed during weddings and Pasni(rice feeding ceremony).
Tongba is a millet-based alcoholic beverage found in the eastern mountainous region of Nepal, Bhutan and neighbouring Indian regions of Sikkim and Delhi. It is the traditional drink of the Rain people. Tongba is culturally and religiously important to the Limbus; offering it is a sign of respect to a guest, and the drink is also an important element of special occasions and festivals.
In the cuisine of Sikkim, in northeastern India, rice is a staple food, and fermented foods traditionally constitute a significant portion of the cuisine. Indian cuisine is popular, as Sikkim is the only state of India with an ethnic Indian Gorkha majority. Many restaurants in Sikkim serve various types of Nepalese cuisine, such as the Limbu, Newa and Thakali cuisines. Tibetan cuisine has also influenced Sikkimese cuisine. The combination of various cuisines has resulted in one specific cuisine.
The production of beer in Tibet is a relatively recent phenomenon in Tibetan cuisine. The Chinese established the Lhasa Brewery Company in 1988, which is located in Lhasa. It is the highest brewery in the world.
Huangjiu is a type of Chinese alcoholic beverage most popular in the Jiangnan area. Huangjiu is brewed by mixing boiled grains including rice, glutinous rice or millet with qū as starter culture, followed by saccharification and fermentation at around 13–18 °C (55–64 °F) for fortnights. Its alcohol content is typically 8% to 20%.
A malt drink is a fermented drink in which the primary ingredient is the grain, or seed, of the barley plant, which has been allowed to sprout slightly in a traditional way called "malting" before it is processed.
Alcohol is Legal to produce 60 Litres of fermented beverage and distill 30 Litres Raksi per year for personal consumption, but it's illegal to sell home made Spirits Raksi in Nepal. The mixed society coupled with caste and multiple ethnic results in extremely complex social structure, generally alcohol consumption depends upon individual social background. There are mainly two types of people in Nepal depending upon alcohol uses. The group of people who do not drink or use alcohol are called Tagadhari (तगाधारी), and the other group who drink alcohol are called Matawali. Generally, the Brahmins and Kshatriyas are the Janai wearer and do not drink alcohol, but with the exception of Matwali Chhetries of Karnali who are permitted to use alcohol. Alcohol also plays an important role in rituals, festivals and religious ceremonies. Matwali uses alcohol for their traditional purposes and generally brew alcohol by themselves. People such as Tharu, Kirati people, Magar, Gurung, Tamang, Newars
Aconitum species have been used in China as an essential drug in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for 2000 years.
Indian drinks | |
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| Tea | |
| Alcoholic | |
