Chal is a Turkish beverage which is made using the fermented Camel’s milk and is famously enjoyed throughout Asian continent and some parts of Europe. It is believed that Adai Kazhaks of Turkmenistan consider this as the staple summer drink. The people of the bordering Kazakhstan consume this drink to beat the scorching summer heat. The Kazhakis’ call it shubat. The fermented camel milk or shubat is mostly prepared from traditional process. It is believed that Turkmens churn agaran from the surface of chal.
Chal Recipe- Suggested Ingredients
The recipe of chal demands usage of fermented camel milk. The fermentation takes place in high temperature and is mostly induced by combining the fresh camel milk with the remainder of the previous day chala. For about 3-4 days, fresh milk is mixed with the chala. The matured chala contains about one third-one fifth of the sour milk. The traditional Turkmeni chal recipe discards the usage of any artificial fermentation agent because the weather itself acts as the great fermentation catalyst.
Chal contains bacteria such as Lactobacilli lactic, streptococci and yeast. The drink is cultured by infusing the leftover chalas of previous days. These leftover chalas are the source of lactobacillus casei. Other than those agents of streptococcus, thermophilus and lactose-fermenting yeasts are added to the chal. The drink is allowed to ferment for 8 hours at 25 degree Celsius and then subsequently for 16 hours at 20 degree Celsius.
Serving and Drinking Chal
The chal is always prepared and savored fresh. Normally this drink is not suitable to be carried during long term journey because its quality begins to deter with time. Due to its perishable nature it brings high challenges for the importers to import it outside Turkmenistan. The chal is left to ferment for at least 4 hours before the consumption. It takes almost 6-8 hours for it to become full-fledged chala. The acidity of the drink increases with time and the taste becomes very sharp. The drink remains fresh only for a day and for best results the drink is normally stored at temperature below 5 degree Celsius, which is almost impossible to achieve with refrigerators. It is strongly recommended that the chal should be consumed only during the day time.
Health and Nutritive Value of Chal
The typical chal recipe demands use of pure cultures of Lactobacillus casei, streptococcus thermophilus, and species of torula, which has comparatively less fat compared to the ones prepared from old culture. Several health benefits of chal consumption were identified by the modern science. It has been found that unlike camel milk and cow milk, chal recipe and shubbat is particularly known for its virus inhibiting properties in their liquid and lyophilized form. Also, unlike the cow’s milk, the camel milk does not sour below 10 degree Celsius and stays fresh up to 72 hours. But at 30 degree Celsius, camel’s milk sours within 8 hours, whereas cow’s milk sours within 3 hours. When compared to the regular camel milk, the chal is low on lactose, non fat solids, ash, ethyl alcohol, and ascorbic acid.