Bhaati jaanr is a mild-alcoholic and juicy soft product with distinct sweet aroma, prepared from steamed glutinous rice. Bhaati jaanr is a Nepali word for fermented rice beverage. Different ethnic people call it by their own dialect such as tak thee (Limboo), kok umaak (Rai), kaiyan paa (Gurung), kaan chi (Tamang), kameshyaabu (Sunwar), chho haan (Magar), ja thon (Newar), dacchhang (Sherpa), laayakaa chhyaang (Bhutia), and jo chee (Lepcha).

During traditional method of bhaati jaanr preparation,  mainly glutinous rice, is cooked for about 15 min in an open cooker. Excess water is drained off and spread on a bamboo mat called mandro for cooling (~ 40° C). Powdered marcha (1 to 2 %) is sprinkled over cooked rice, mixed well and kept in a vessel or an earthen pot for 1-2 days at room temperature for saccharification. During saccharification sweet aroma is emitted out. After saccharification, the vessel is made airtight and fermented for 2-3 days in summer and 7-8 days in winter (Fig 9).  

Fig. 9. Flow sheet of Bhaati jaanr preparation in South Sikkim

Bhaati jaanr is made into a thick paste by stirring the fermented mass with the help of a hand-driven wooden or bamboo-made stirrer. It is consumed directly. Sometimes, bhaati jaanr is stored in an earthenware crock for a week or more after desired fermentation is completed to make yellowish-white supernatant liquor called nigaar, collected at the bottom of the earthen ware crock. Nigaar is drunk directly with or without addition of water. It is more alcoholic and slightly acidic in taste. It is a traditional diet for new mothers in villages who believe that it helps them to regain their strength.

Feeding frequency of bhaati jaanr is presented in Table 4. Only 5 % of people consume bhaati jaanr daily in rural areas of the Sikkim Himalayas. Per capita daily consumption of bhaati jaanr in the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim is 252.5 g and 323.5 g, respectively (Tamang et al., 1996).  

Bhaati jaanr is similar to other fermented rice products of Asia such as tapé ketan of Indonesia), lao-chao of Cantonese in China, tien-chiu-niang of Mandarin in China, yakju of Korea and khao-maak of Thailand.