Chuak

Tripuri rice beer — glutinous rice (bangui or regular short-grain rice) cooked and cooled to room temperature, mixed with a traditional starter cake made from powdered dried herbs, rice flour, and wild yeast (hathikakra), layered in a large clay pot or bamboo vessel, and fermented at room temperature for three to seven days until the rice liquefies into a mildly alcoholic, lightly sweet, faintly sour beverage. Served cloudy by mixing the fermented rice mash with water just before drinking; some preparations strain it through bamboo to produce a clearer drink. Chuak is not merely a beverage in Tripuri culture but a ritual substance: offered to ancestors during puja, shared among elders at the beginning of festivals, and presented to guests as a gesture of hospitality. The flavour is gentle, lightly alcoholic, mildly sour with a grain sweetness; consumed throughout festivals over several days.