Handia (Also handi or hadiya) is a rice beer originating from the Indian subcontinent, popular in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. Etmology Handia comes from hindi word Handi means earthen pot where it was traditionally prepared. History Evidence of Fermentation and Alcoholic beverages found in Indus valley civilization during Chalcolithic Period from 3000 BC to 2000 BC in India. In Ancient India, the Vedas mention a beer-like drink called sura. It was the favourite of the god Indra. Kautilya has mentioned two intoxicating beverages made from rice called Medaka and Prasanna. Megasthenes, the Greek Ambassador to Maurya Emperor Chandragupta Maurya mentioned about rice beer in his book Indica where he mention Indian make wine from rice instead of barley. He mentioned Indian never drink rice wine except during sacrifice. Preparation The making involves the use of ranu tablets, which is essentially a combination of about 20-25 herbs and acts as a fermentor. These ranu tablets help in the preparation of many other beverages as well. The ranu tablets are then mixed with boiled rice and left to ferment in earthen pots. The drink is generally ready within a week. It is served cool and has lower alcoholic strength than other Indian country liquors. Earlier it was only used in marriage function and feast but now it commercialised as people started selling in daily due to economic reasons. See also Rice wine List of Indian drinks Related beverages Amazake Nigori Chhaang Mahuli References Further reading External links Fermented drinks Indian alcoholic drinks Bihari cuisine Odia cuisine Jharkhandi cuisine Types of beer Traditional Indian alcoholic beverages Nagpuri culture