Kaanji – Recipe

Kaanji is a very popular fermented drink served especially during Holi in the North of India.It is a probiotic drink that improves the gut health and helps cure various ailments like cough, weakness in the joints, bloating etc.

Kaanji should always be cured in an earthen pot, glass or a ceramic jar. Do not keep in steel or other metal jars as it tends to spoil the kanji and can at times make it toxic too.

Ingredients –

• 1 kg black carrots (or orange desi carrots with 1 beetroot)
• 2 tsp kala namak (to taste)
• 2 tsp regular salt
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground mustard seeds
• 2 ltr water at room temperature
• 1 earthen, glass or ceramic jar

Method

1. Peel and wash carrots and beetroot. Cut into sticks of 2 inch each
2. Combine the salt, black salt, chilli powder and crushed mustard seeds with the water and pour into the glass jar or an earthen pot.
3. Add the carrots and the beetroot, mix well. Cover the jar with a lid and leave it in the sun for 3 days to a week until it ferments to the taste. If it is hot it may get ready in 2 days also. One needs to keep checking.
4. Remember to keep stirring it.
5. Once it has become pungent and achieves a wine like colour, sieve it through a colander and remove the carrots.
6. Do not discard the removed carrots. They can be eaten as a picked vegetable