Northeast Indian

Poita Bhat (Fermented Soaked Rice)

Name: Poita Bhat (Fermented Soaked Rice)
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Northeast Indian
Ingredients: 3 cups cooked rice; 3 cups water; 1 tbsp mustard oil; 1/2 red onion; 1 green chili; 1/2 tsp salt

Bandana Gogoi @bandana_ghy

Poita Bhat (Fermented Soaked Rice) is Northeast Indian home cooking, eaten at breakfast and lunch. On the plate it is the dish at the centre and the carb everything else is eaten with. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.

15 min Easy Heart healthy Low sodium Vegetarian Vegan Halal Gluten free Dairy free Pescatarian

Ingredients

Serves

The quantities follow this count.

3 cups cooked rice
3 cups water
1 tbsp mustard oil
1/2 red onion
1 green chili
1/2 tsp salt

How to cook it

The night before, place the cooked rice in a bowl, cover completely with the water, and leave it at room temperature overnight to soak and lightly ferment.
In the morning, the rice should smell faintly tangy and the water slightly cloudy; drain off most of the water or keep a little for a looser texture, depending on preference.
Finely chop the onion and chili and mix them into the soaked rice.
Drizzle in the mustard oil and salt and mix well by hand.
Serve cool as a light, self-complete meal, especially popular on hot summer days.

Watch how to cook Poita Bhat (Fermented Soaked Rice)

Someone making it start to finish, so you can see what the steps look like.

Serve it with

A Northeast Indian lunch is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Poita Bhat (Fermented Soaked Rice), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.

The cooked vegetable
- Akhuni Yam (Fermented Soybean with Yam and Mustard Greens)
  
  25 min
The protein alongside
- Lauki Chana Dal (Bottle Gourd and Lentils)
  
  45 min
The sharp little thing
- Aloo Pitika (Mashed Potato with Mustard Oil)
  
  20 min

A course labelled with another kitchen's name comes from a cuisine in the same family, which is where this plate usually borrows it from.

Safe at your table

Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand. Poita Bhat (Fermented Soaked Rice) carries none of them. That is a checked answer rather than an ingredient list nobody read.

Every tracked allergen in Poita Bhat (Fermented Soaked Rice)
Allergen	In this dish
Peanuts	No
Tree nuts	No
Dairy	No
Gluten	No
Shellfish	No
Eggs	No
Soy	No
Fish	No
Sesame	No
Coconut	No

These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.

What it brings to the plate

Estimated, per serving

Calories: 210 kcal
Protein: 4 g
Carbs: 42 g
Fat: 3 g
Fiber: 1 g
Sugar: 0 g
Sodium: 280 mg
Saturated fat: 0 g

Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients, brands, and how you cook.

When to cook it

Poita Bhat (Fermented Soaked Rice) takes about 15 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is easy going. It is eaten at breakfast and lunch. It is at its best in summer, which is when what goes into it is worth buying.