Study on Technology of Kasar - a Cereal Based Indigenous Food of Nepal

Rewati Raman Bhattarai *1, Raj Kumar Rijal2 and Pashupati Mishra1
1

Tribhuwan University, Central Campus of Technology, Hattisar, Dharan, Nepal

Food Research Officer, Regional Food Technology and Quality Control Office, Hetauda, Nepal

Abstract
Kasar is a traditional as well as indigenous cereal based food of Nepal which is very popular during marriage and special occasions like bratabandha. The aim of this paper was to give basic ideas on preparation, equipments used and consumption, occasions of use and ethnical importance of kasar. Keywords: Rice, Traditional knowledge, Method of preparation, Kasar, Nepal.

Introduction
Cereals are used world-wide as staple foods (Chakraborty et al., 2011). Rice (Oryza sativa L.) stands first among the cereal crops in Nepal, which accounts for 50% of total edible cereal production and about 20% to Agricultural Gross Domestic Product (AGDP) on the country (Bhujel and Ghimire, 2006) and provides more than 50% of the total calories required to the Nepalese people (Basnet, 2008). Rice is now cultivated on 1.5 million ha in Nepal, producing about 4.5 million tons of rice (MOAC, 2009). Rice is an agricultural crop that continues to be an important source of food and nutrition (Hashim et al., 1996). Consumption of rice and its fermented products is increasing in the developing countries due to its high caloric value, appealing quality characteristics, and high acceptability by consumers (Steinkraus, 1994). Rice has been found to be very easy to digest. It is low in fat, low in cholesterol, high in starch, and has a high nutritional content. Rice is also an excellent source of energy. It is comprised of 77.5% carbohydrate (Anon., n.d.). As a food crop, rice provides more calories per ha than any other cereal food grain (Pillai, 1990?). Rice also contains a range of important nutrients, including B and E vitamins; protein; and minerals especially potassium whichhelps the body reduce toxins (Anon., n.d.). Protein quality of rice surpasses that of wheat and corn while it is just inferior to oats. Also, rice protein is hypoallergenic and contains good quantity of lysine. Thus it may act as a suitable ingredient for infant food formulations while adding variety to the restricted diets of children with food allergies (Burks and Helm, 1994, Gurpreet and Sogi, 2007). Amino acid profile of rice protein was better than casein and soy protein isolate _____________________________________________ *Corresponding author Email: noble_rewinem1@yahoo.com

in fulfilling the amino acid requirements for 25 years old children (Wang et al., 1999). In recent years, cereals and its ingredients are accepted as functional food and nutraceuticals because of providing dietary fibre, proteins, energy, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants required for human health. Wheat, buckwheat, oat, barley, flaxseed, psyllium, brown rice and soy products are notified as the most common cereal based functional food and nutraceuticals (Chakraborty et al., 2011). Brown rice and basmati rice have medium or low Glycaemic Index values, and are not associated with increasing risk factors for weight gain and diabetes (Anon., n.d.). Ethnic nonalcoholic fermented cereal foods are mostly prepared and consumed as staple foods in the form of breads, loafs, confectionery, and gruels worldwide as well as complementary foods for infants and young children in Africa (Tamang, 2010). Some of the common cereal based non fermented foods of Nepal have been documented. These include chiura (beaten rice flakes), bhuja or murai, bhakka (Kharel et al., 2010), puwa and kasar (Dahal et al., 2005) which deals only with consumption and/or preparation of these traditional foods. Kasar is a popular rice-based, sweet, hard, ghee-roasted, ball shaped Nepalese indigenous food concerned with special cultural occasions like marriage and bratabandha. The aim of this paper was to give basic ideas on preparation, equipments used and consumption, occasions of use and ethnical importance of kasar.

Methodology
Survey was conducted in Dharan and Jhapa where special occassions like marriage and bratabandha was being done. The respondents were basically women of >35 age group. Information was collected belonging to different ethnicity, religion, age and sex groups on

Study on technology of kasar - a cereal based indigenous food of Nepal 39 preparation and consumption of kasar using the questionnaire. Indigenousknowledge on traditional method of preparation, mode of consumption and ethnical importance of kasar was documented based on the information sought from the surveyed population. mixed with syrup. It is then pounded with lohoro and kneaded with hand. Small balls of kasar having 5-8 cm diameter are made while hot by hands. It is then stored in thunse and dalo. Per capita consumption of kasar in Nepal was found as 1-2 balls/ occasion. Average annual production of kasar per household in Nepal depends on frequency of occasions occurred. Kasar is a popular ricebased, sweet, hard, ghee-roasted, ball shaped Nepalese indigenous food concerned with special cultural occasions like marriage and bratabandha. It is prepared during religious festivals and special occasions. Kasar is a Nepali word for ball which is made hard. The following traditional equipments are used during preparation of kasar as documented during survey. Ari or dekchi: These are equipment made up of stainless steel or aluminum used for soaking rice. Dhiki: A leg-pound made up of log of wood and is used to pound the soaked rice and prepare flour. Kaptera is bundle of pointed stick made up of bamboo used to stir the flour while roasting. Karahi: It is a heavy deep iron pan with two holding rings which is used for roasting flour.
Rice

Results and discussion

Data on acquiring of kasar from home made, annual production and per capita consumption during special occasions by ethnic groups in eastern, mid western and central part of Nepal was collected. Kasar is only prepared at home during marriage and bratabandha (Fig. 1). Among the ethnic groups, Brahmins and Chhetris prepare kasar. During kasar preparation, local variety of rice is sorted, washed and soaked in cold water in ari or dekchi for overnight. Water is then decanted from rice and spread over a woven tray made of bamboo, locally called nanglo and surface dried. Soaked rice is pounded into coarse powder in dhiki or okhli. Larger particles of pounded rice flour are separated from the rest by winnowing in bamboo tray and repounded. Mixtures of coarse and fine flour are used. Then roasting is done in karahi (or khadkulo) in ghiu (anhydrous milk fat) and continuous stirring by kaptera till light brown color develops. Shakhar (solidified sugarcane juice) syrup is prepared and filtered by muslin cloth. The hot roasted flour is transferred to nanglo and

Cleaning

Soaking overnight in cold water

Mixing shakhar and water

Complete draining of water

Boiling to make syrup

Milling in okhli or dhiki

Filter by muslin cloth

Winnowing in nanglo

Roasting in karahi (or khadkulo) in ghiu and continuous stirring by kaptera till light brown color

Mixing in hot condition in nanglo

Pounding with lohoro and kneading with hand

Making small balls 5-8 cm diameter while hot by hands

Kasar

Fig.1. Traditional method of kasar preparation in Nepal

Rewa Raman Bhaarai, Raj Kumar Rijal and Pashupa Mishra 40 Khadkulo: It is a brass pan with two holding rings which is used for roasting flour. Lohoro: it is a pestle like stone made equipment used to knead the roasted flour. Nanglo: It is a winnowing tray made up of bamboo bands. It is used to sieve the cereal flour. Okhali: It is a large wooden mortar and pestle used to pound the soaked rice. Thumse and Dalo are bamboo baskets used saasas for storing and carrying bulk of kasar on the back. Kasar has socio-cultural importance among ethnic groups of Nepal. The preparation of kasar is an art of technology and the knowledge is transferred from one generation to another in those ethnic groups. Women prepare it and men help them in pounding the soaked rice. Survey result inducated that kasar is mostly prepared at home during special occasion. Since time immemorial kasar is known as a ceremonial food in Nepal. It marks the special occasion of the Nepalis such as marriage and bratabandha.

References
Anonymous (n.d). Rice: Nutritional Profile and GI Implications. (Internet). Basnet, B.M.S. (2008). Environment Friendly Technologies for Increasing Rice Productivity. J. Agric. Env., 9: 34-40. Bhujel, R.B. and S.P. Ghimire, (2006). Estimation of Production Function of Hiunde (Boro) Rice. Nepal Agric. Res. J., 7: 88-97. Burk,s A.W., Helm, R.M. (1994). Hypoallerginicity of rice protein. In: Presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cereal Chemists. Nashville, TN. Chakraborty, R., Das, A. and Raychaudhuri, U. (2011). Cereal based functional food of Indian subcontinent: a review. J. Food Sci. Technol. (In Springer). Dahal, N., Karki, T.B., Swamylingappa, B., Li, Q. and Gu, G. (2005). Traditional Foods and Beverages of Nepal-A Review. Food Reviews Int., 21 (1): pp. 1-25. Gurpreet, K.C., Sogi, D.S. (2007.) Functional properties of rice bran protein concentrates. J. Food Eng., 79: 592597. Hashim, A.B., Aminuddin, H. and Siva, K.B. (1996). Nutrient Content in Rice Husk Ash of SOme Malaysian Rice Varieties. Pertanika J. Trap. Agric. Sci., 19(1): 77-80. Kharel, G.P., Acharya, P.P. and Rai, B.K. (2010). Traditional Foods of Nepal. Highland Publications, Kathmandu, Nepal. MOAC. 2009. Statistical information on Nepalese agriculture, 2008/2009. Agri-business Promotion and Statistical Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kathmandu. Pillai, K.G. (1990?). Rice (Oryza sativa L.). (Internet). Steinkraus, K. H. (1994). Nutritional significance of fermented foods. Food Research Int. 27: 259267. Tamang, J.P. (2010). Fermented cereals. In Himalayan Fermented Foods: Microbiology, Nutrition, and Ethnic values. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group. Pg. 117. Wang, M., Hettiarachchy, N.S., Qi, M., Burks, W., Siebenmogen, T. (1999).Preparation and functional properties of rice bran protein isolate. J. Agr. Food Chem., 47:411416.

Conclusions
Kasar is a popular rice-based, sweet, hard, ghee-roasted, ball shaped indigenous food of the Nepalis. Indigenous knowledge of Brahmins and Chhetris on production of kasar justifies their skill and expertise for building up a global approach of ethnic foods. The study clearly showed the need of further systematic study of the action of ingredients on the quality of finished product, effect of soaking time on milling quality of rice and particle size distribution, effect of particle size on physical, textural and sensory properties of kasar, effect of syrup concentration, determination of roasting temperature and shelf life studies. These studies will be helpful to optimize and standardise the recipe and technology of kasar as a whole.