Vegetative Products

2.11. Vegetative Products

There are several vegetative products made from commonly/indiginously harvested cereals, such as : cassava, millet, rice etc., which are specific to a particular country and used as their staple food.

Examples : The various typical examples are as given below : (a) African Porridges : In several segments of the African continent one comes across natu-

rally fermented porridges which essestially forms their ‘staple food’. The West African ‘GARI’ (used in Nigeria, Ghana etc.) is invariably prepared from an acid-fermented cassava porridge. In the course of fermentation, usually carried out at 35°C), any cyanide-contain- ing carbohydrates present are duly hydrolyzed thereby removing the cyanide almost com- pletely as hydrocyanic acid (HCN). In this manner the cassava is rendered acidic in nature and the characteristic flavour of gari is given out. The entire fermentative procedure takes almost 3 to 4 days, and caused due to the organism Corynebacterium manihot that eventu- ally hydrolyzes the ensuing starch exothermally and gives rise to lactic acid and formic acid. Subsequently, a yeast like fungus Geotricum candidum gets developed when the product turns acidic which ultimately oxidizes the acid, and gives rise to the characterisitc gari fla- vour and aroma. In usual practice, the fluid content is squeezed out from the ferment, and the starchy residue is carefully dried in a shallow pan over fire with constant stirring to obtain finally a gelatinized granular powder ; alternatively, the wet starchy residue is consumed directly as ‘fufu’. African also make use of maize and sorghum profusely for fermentation so to obtain these acidic porridges as their staple food. Nevertheless, such low-cost technolo- gies have been used since time immemorial in different zones in Africa, depending solely upon their cultural preference and linking.

(b) Injeera : Ethiopia and Iretria (East Africa) makes use of millet more or less in the same manner as stated in

(1) above, except that the wet fermented dough is shaped in the form of ‘chapati’ (a flat- thin bread) and baked in coal-fired/electric round ovens. Fresh injeera may be used for 3 to 4 days. It is one of the most liked staple food amongst the Ethiopians and the Iretrians alike.

(c) Indian Idli : Idli is a very common, age-old, fermented South Indian dish prepared from rice and a small amount of dehulled black grams (Moong dal) or even sometimes lentils. Idli is now being eaten all over India, just like Pizza in the West. It is slightly acidic steamed puffed soft bread which is quite rich in protein and easy to digest.

In usual procedure, both cereals (rice) and pulses* (black gram, or lentil) are soaked over night separately in the ratio of 3 : 1. The soaked rice and pulse are ground separately either by specially designed hand-operated grinding pestle and mortor made of stone or electrically operated grinding devices. Generally, rice is ground coarsely, and pulse ground finely. The ground products are mixed adequately into a big vessel, salt added as per taste, and then incubated overnight. During this process the batter

becomes acidic and it is leavened by CO 2 , primarily generated by Leuconostoc mesenteroides. How- ever, the presence of streptococcus faecalis does help in attributing the desired strength of acidity that gives Idli the real texture, flavour, taste, and around.

ADVENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

The leavened and acidified batter is now cooked in a specially designed metal cups under steam when it gets puffed up and eventually becomes soft and spongy in texture.