Kerala Beetroot Wine - Simple recipe. Makes ~4 liters. Be warned though, this gives quite a kick!
Prep Time - 30 mins.
1 kg Beetroot
1 kg Sugar
3.5 liters water
5 pieces Cinnamon sticks
~5 cloves
1/2 piece Ginger
Juice of 3 lemons
Yeast
Method:
Clean, peel & grate the beetroot - something like we do for Gajar ka Halwa - and keep aside. Extract juice of 3 lemons and keep aside.
In a large vessel, bring 3.5 liters water to a rolling boil. Reduce gas to a simmer, and start adding the sugar slowly, mixing till it fully dissolves. Add the cloves, cinnamon & grated ginger. When sugar is fully dissolved, add in the grated beetroot slowly stirring well to avoid lumps. Cover and leave to simmer for ~15-20 minutes. Take off the gas and set aside to cool slightly. Once cooled, use strainer to filter the concoction into another large vessel. The pulp is usually thrown away - but i have discovered that it can be saved and used to make some delicious home-made "jam".
Take cup of lukewarm water and stir in 1/2 tsp sugar along with 1 tsp yeast. Temperature of water is critical - too cold or too hot and the fermentation wont work. Stir till yeast is completely dissolved. Set aside for 10 minutes. Don't allow the strained beetroot concoction to cool completely.
Stir in the yeast-sugar water into the lukewarm concoction along with the juice of 3 lemons. Mix well till arms start to hurt! :) Tradition requires us to use wooden spoons for this stirring.
Pour decoction into large airtight container of choice and set it aside for fermentation. Leave ~1 inch space at top of container to allow space for expansion during fermentation. Again - the traditional way is to use bharani's/martaban for this stage, though this time, I substituted Treo make glass containers - each of 2.25 liter capacity. Wrap glass containers in Dark plastic garbage bags and keep away in a cool, dark place for around 20 days. The containers should not be stirred or shaken about in this period.
After around 20 days, uncover the bharani's and carefully strain the fermenting decoction into a large vessel using a fine muslin cloth rather than a strainer. One person I know uses a pump (of the kind used to transfer fuel between cars) for this purpose so as to not disturb the sediment. But that is just too tedious! Dont freak out if you find bubbly froth at the top of the container. Fungus=wine ruined, froth=Wine coming out wokay!
If all has gone well, you should see a clear liquid (iced tea color) and beet sediment settled at the bottom. I found an inch of sediment at the bottom of each of my 3 bharani's earlier today! Wash & thoroughly dry out the bharani's -very crucial. Taste some! smile emoticon If you haven't got the "iced-tea color", then pour the liquid back into the dried out bharani's and repeat process after 2 more weeks. Lather, rinse, repeat!
I am told the color may vary widely depending on the quality of the beetroot used etc so ultimately its about personal preference. Some people I know prefer a "muddy" wine, while others like it clear! But assuming the fermentation has gone well, you should have usable wine after 20 days itself. Once you are satisfied with the color of the wine, transfer it to dark colored airtight bottles (again Treo has a nice collection of 1 liter wine bottles with plastic corks) and store for as long as you like - the longer the better. I find the flavor is best after the 3 month mark! Though with most people I know, its over before the month is out! :P
1. Important to keep all vessels absolutely clean and free of chemicals. Also the bharani's where the wine is kept for fermenting must be kept absolutely dry when transferring and straining the liquid. The slightest bit of water can cause fungus. If you spot green mold at the top of your bharani when you open - the project is over!
2. I didn't use ginger this time as I find the flavor too overwhelming. Maybe that along with the choice of container is the reason for not quite getting the "iced-tea" color at the first go.
3. Squeezed an extra lemon into one of the 3 bharani's as an experiment. Found today that it made the wine much much more stronger and gave a darker color (left most bharani in pic below).
4. The leftover beet pulp is usually thrown away. But I have found it can be used to make a delicious "jam". Put the strained pulp in a mixie, add one tbsp honey and juice of one lemon and pulse for 20 seconds. Store in bottles and use at breakfast time! Perfect to spread on chapati!
5. What can go wrong? Fungus is the single biggest killer. Keeping vessels absolutely dry of water especially during the transfer phases is crucial. The other is slow or no fermentation. Getting the temperature of the water right when you mix in the lemon & yeast is essential. Too cold and the yeast wont activate, too hot and it will "kill" the yeast.
6. The toughest part is to keep the wine aside to age! Temptation to open that bottle can be overwhelming! But save atleast one bottle past the 3/4 month mark! You wont regret it! :)
Cheers!
Prep Time - 30 mins.
1 kg Beetroot
1 kg Sugar
3.5 liters water
5 pieces Cinnamon sticks
~5 cloves
1/2 piece Ginger
Juice of 3 lemons
Yeast
Method:
Clean, peel & grate the beetroot - something like we do for Gajar ka Halwa - and keep aside. Extract juice of 3 lemons and keep aside.
In a large vessel, bring 3.5 liters water to a rolling boil. Reduce gas to a simmer, and start adding the sugar slowly, mixing till it fully dissolves. Add the cloves, cinnamon & grated ginger. When sugar is fully dissolved, add in the grated beetroot slowly stirring well to avoid lumps. Cover and leave to simmer for ~15-20 minutes. Take off the gas and set aside to cool slightly. Once cooled, use strainer to filter the concoction into another large vessel. The pulp is usually thrown away - but i have discovered that it can be saved and used to make some delicious home-made "jam".
Take cup of lukewarm water and stir in 1/2 tsp sugar along with 1 tsp yeast. Temperature of water is critical - too cold or too hot and the fermentation wont work. Stir till yeast is completely dissolved. Set aside for 10 minutes. Don't allow the strained beetroot concoction to cool completely.
Stir in the yeast-sugar water into the lukewarm concoction along with the juice of 3 lemons. Mix well till arms start to hurt! :) Tradition requires us to use wooden spoons for this stirring.
Pour decoction into large airtight container of choice and set it aside for fermentation. Leave ~1 inch space at top of container to allow space for expansion during fermentation. Again - the traditional way is to use bharani's/martaban for this stage, though this time, I substituted Treo make glass containers - each of 2.25 liter capacity. Wrap glass containers in Dark plastic garbage bags and keep away in a cool, dark place for around 20 days. The containers should not be stirred or shaken about in this period.
After around 20 days, uncover the bharani's and carefully strain the fermenting decoction into a large vessel using a fine muslin cloth rather than a strainer. One person I know uses a pump (of the kind used to transfer fuel between cars) for this purpose so as to not disturb the sediment. But that is just too tedious! Dont freak out if you find bubbly froth at the top of the container. Fungus=wine ruined, froth=Wine coming out wokay!
If all has gone well, you should see a clear liquid (iced tea color) and beet sediment settled at the bottom. I found an inch of sediment at the bottom of each of my 3 bharani's earlier today! Wash & thoroughly dry out the bharani's -very crucial. Taste some! smile emoticon If you haven't got the "iced-tea color", then pour the liquid back into the dried out bharani's and repeat process after 2 more weeks. Lather, rinse, repeat!
I am told the color may vary widely depending on the quality of the beetroot used etc so ultimately its about personal preference. Some people I know prefer a "muddy" wine, while others like it clear! But assuming the fermentation has gone well, you should have usable wine after 20 days itself. Once you are satisfied with the color of the wine, transfer it to dark colored airtight bottles (again Treo has a nice collection of 1 liter wine bottles with plastic corks) and store for as long as you like - the longer the better. I find the flavor is best after the 3 month mark! Though with most people I know, its over before the month is out! :P
1. Important to keep all vessels absolutely clean and free of chemicals. Also the bharani's where the wine is kept for fermenting must be kept absolutely dry when transferring and straining the liquid. The slightest bit of water can cause fungus. If you spot green mold at the top of your bharani when you open - the project is over!
2. I didn't use ginger this time as I find the flavor too overwhelming. Maybe that along with the choice of container is the reason for not quite getting the "iced-tea" color at the first go.
3. Squeezed an extra lemon into one of the 3 bharani's as an experiment. Found today that it made the wine much much more stronger and gave a darker color (left most bharani in pic below).
4. The leftover beet pulp is usually thrown away. But I have found it can be used to make a delicious "jam". Put the strained pulp in a mixie, add one tbsp honey and juice of one lemon and pulse for 20 seconds. Store in bottles and use at breakfast time! Perfect to spread on chapati!
5. What can go wrong? Fungus is the single biggest killer. Keeping vessels absolutely dry of water especially during the transfer phases is crucial. The other is slow or no fermentation. Getting the temperature of the water right when you mix in the lemon & yeast is essential. Too cold and the yeast wont activate, too hot and it will "kill" the yeast.
6. The toughest part is to keep the wine aside to age! Temptation to open that bottle can be overwhelming! But save atleast one bottle past the 3/4 month mark! You wont regret it! :)
Cheers!
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