Functional foods in the northwestern Himalayan Region of India and their significance: a healthy dietary tradition of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh

Table 2 Traditional fermented foods and alcoholic beverages of Himachal Pradesh

Food name	Region	Key ingredients	Impact on health	References
Chhang	Lahaul & Spiti, Kullu and Kinnaur	Wheat and phab	The F22 strain obtain from Chhang is able to tolerate and simulate low gastric pH, can survive in high bile salt, and shows antagonism against food-borne spoilage-causing bacteria	[63, 64]
Jhol/Kadu/Khoru	Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur	Curd/buttermilk cooked with spices, onions, gram flour	Rich in probiotic microorganisms Lactobacillus fermentum, L. acidophilus F14, Sacchromyces cerevisiae Bacillus sp. A12, B. mycoides A12
Marchu	Lahaul	Fermented by Malera (when shape folded spirals called Dosha)	Improves digestion, high content of different lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. lactis, Leuconostoc, Bacillus sp., S. cerevisiae	[64, 65]
Chilra	Lahaul	Buckwheat, wheat and barley flour fermented by Treh	High content of lactic acid bacteria such as L. plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. lactis, S. cerevisiae, Bacillus sp.	[64, 65]
Daru/Chakti/jhol (jaggery and phab)	Shimla, kullu	Jaggery and phab	Act as probiotics, protection against cold	[64]

ISSN: 2352-619X