Kanji Recipe

purple reddish colored kanji drink in a glass jar with pickled carrots, beets in a small bowl with ceramic jar and a glass jar with kanji in the background

4.86 from 14 votes

Learn to make Kanji that is a traditional North Indian fermented drink. This healthy probiotic drink is traditionally made with black carrots. But with all the health benefits, my easy recipe is made with regular red carrots and beets.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time0 mins

Total Time15 mins

Course: Beverages

Cuisine: North Indian, Punjabi

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Difficulty Level: Easy

Servings:

Calories: 40kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

5 to 6 carrots - medium-sized
2 beetroots - small-sized
8 cups water - approx 2 litres of water, boiled
2 teaspoons red chili powder or cayenne pepper - add as needed
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds or 1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
1 tablespoon black salt or regular salt or pink salt, add as needed

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Rinse and then peel the carrots and beetroots.
Note that you can use orange carrots, if you do not have red carrots. If you are not a fan or beets, skip them and swap with 1 more medium-sized carrot.
Chop into 1.5 to 2 inches long sticks or batons.
First boil water and let it cool at room temperature. Cover the pan when the water cools.
In a clean ceramic or glass jars with a wide mouth, add the carrots, beets, ground yellow mustard powder, black salt, pink salt or regular salt and red chili powder or cayenne.
Mix all the ingredients with a clean dry spoon.
Cover with loosely with a lid or secure and tie a muslin cloth/cheese cloth on the top of the jar or bottle. Keep the jars in the sun for 2 to 3 days or up-to 4 to 5 days depending on the sunlight in your area.
For an intense and strong sunlight, about 1 to 2 days is good enough for fermentation. When there are cloudy days and less sunlight, 4 to 5 days will work. But do ensure that your kanji drink is fermented well. Do not keep so long that will make your drink over fermented.
Stir with a wooden spoon or shake the jar everyday.
When the kanji tastes sour, it means the drink is fermented.
Serve carrot kanji straightway or refrigerate. It stays good in the fridge for about 4 to 5 days.
You could add a few ice cubes while serving or refrigerate to make it cold before serving.
Drink the kanji before meals or anytime during the day. Serve the fermented carrot and beets sticks as a pickle condiment with any Indian main course.
The sour-tangy carrots and beets can be included in a salad or add as toppings to your wraps, burgers or sandwiches.

Notes

Recipe Notes

Cleanliness: Any fermented drink need care so that you do not end up with bad microbes in it. Ensure that your jars, spoons, chopping boards, knives are all clean and dry. If you see any layer of fungus, then throw away the drink. If the drink has an awful smell, that means it has gotten bad, so discard it.
Mustard: You can choose to use both black or yellow mustard. However keep in mind that black mustard has a more pungent flavor, so add lesser amount of it - about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons. I have used yellow mustard which is milder.
Boiling water: I highly recommend to boil water and cool it at room temperature. This way you rule out your kanji going bad. Tap water or even machine filtered water can spoil the drink
Variations: Together with carrots and beets, you can include turnips and peeled watermelon rinds in the drink. You do not need to add any sugar or sweetener in this drink as the natural sugar, starches in the carrots and beets help the friendly bacteria to feed on and ferment the drink naturally.

To make Kanji Vada

Soak ½ cup urad dal(husked black gram) in water overnight or for 6 to 8 hours. Drain the extra water. Rinse the soaked lentils a few times draining all the water.
In a blender or grinder, grind the urad dal with 1 green chili, ½ tsp cumin, a pinch of asafoetida, 1 inch ginger and salt with very less water to a thick flowing batter.
Heat oil for deep frying in a pan or kadai (wok). Gently place spoonfuls of the the batter into medium hot oil. Fry the vada until they are golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper towels for a few minutes
Then soak the fried vadas in water for 12-15 minutes. Gently press the soaked vada between the palms of your hands to squeeze out the extra water.
Soak these vadas in the kanji for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Serve kanji vada cold or chilled.

Nutrition