ABSTRACT
Fermented legumes Several indigenous varieties of legumes are grown in the Himalayas, including soybeans, black grams, beans, etc. Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merrill, family Leguminosae, subfamily Pap il i on aceae) is a summer leguminous crop, grown under rain-fed conditions in upland terraces as a sole crop as well as a mixed crop with rice and maize up to an elevation of 1500 m. Soybean, locally known as bhatmas in the Nepali language, is traditionally used to prepare various fermented and nonfermented recipes in the eastern Himalayan regions of Nepal, India, and Bhutan (Tamang 1996). Two indigenous varieties of soybeans-yellow cultivar and dark brown cultivar-are grown in between May and June and harvested in November. Locally grown soybeans are harvested, and dry seeds of soybeans are naturally fermented into a avorsome and sticky product in the eastern parts of Nepal, Darjeeling hills, Sikkim, northeastern regions of India, and southern parts of Bhutan by the Mongolian races. This fermentation process is primarily for improvement of sensory quality and nutritional value, rather than preservation.
