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''Kinema'' () is a fermented soybean food, prepared by the
Many other Asian countries have fermented soyabean dishes, such as ''shuǐdòuchǐ'' of
Nepali
Nepali or Nepalese may refer to :
Concerning Nepal
* Anything of, from, or related to Nepal
* Nepali people, citizens of Nepal
* Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...
communities of the Eastern Himalayas region: Eastern Nepal, and Darjeeling, Kalimpong
Kalimpong (Hindi: कलिम्पोंग) is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The re ...
and Sikkim regions of India. Kinema is a traditional food of the Limbu people, as well as people of other Kirati communities.
Etymology and history
The word ''kinema'' is believed to be derived from the tribal Limbu word ''kinambaa'', where ''ki'' means fermented and nambaa means flavour. It is a traditional food of the Limbu people as well as people of other Kirati communities. It is also called ''chembihik'' and ''hokuma'' in Bantawa language. According to Indian microbiologistJyoti Prakash Tamang
Professor Dr. Jyoti Prakash Tamang (born 16 November 1961) is an Indian food microbiologist, working on fermented foods and alcoholic beverages of the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal and Bhutan and South East Asia for last 36 years and the Seni ...
, kinema is estimated to have originated around 600 BC to 100 AD during Kirat dynasty rule, introduced by Limbu people.
Consumption
The slimy, odorous product offermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
is traditionally prepared into a soup that is consumed with rice, but can also be turned into a savoury dip or a pungent side dish to be consumed along with rice or bread. Kinema is traditionally prepared at home, but now it is sold in local markets and even retailed online as a dried product.
Nutritional value
''Kinema'' is considered a healthy food because fermentation breaks down complex proteins into easily digestible amino acids. The product is alkaline with pH of 7.89, unlike soyabean which has a pH of 6.75. It has 62% moisture content. 48 g of protein, 28 g of carbohydrate, 17 g of fat and 7 g of ash is found in every 100 g of dry kinema. The energy value of ''Kinema'' is 2 MJ per 100 grams. Free fatty acidity in kinema is found to be about 33 times higher than raw soybeans.Similar foods
Many other Asian countries have fermented soyabean dishes, such as ''shuǐdòuchǐ'' of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, '' cheonggukjang'' of Korea, '' tempeh'' of Indonesia, nattō of Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, ''thua nao'' of Thailand, '' tungrymbai'' of Meghalaya, ''hawaijaar'' of Manipur, ''bekangum'' of Mizoram, '' akhuni'' of Nagaland, and ''piak'' of Arunachal Pradesh, India.
Kinema forms one of the vertices of the "natto triangle" proposed by the Japanese ethnobiologist Sasuke Nakao. Jyoti Prakash Tamang proposed a extended ‘KNT (Kinema-Natto-Thua Nao) triangle', connecting the fermented soyabeans across Asia. Nakao considered Yunnan region of China to be the origin place of fermented soyabean technique, as the center of the triangle falls in that region.
See also
*'' Gundruk'' * ''Sinki'' *'' Masaura''References