Kanji or Ganji as it is called in Tamilnadu and some parts of south india is a very filling dish for everyone who fast! It is said that having this or perhaps drinking this cools the tummy which is steamed up after whole day of fasting throughout the month. For many muslim families fasting in Ramadan is incomplete without Kanji which can be counted as rice soups!!
It is widely available in every masjid here given for free and also we find some sellers in road side selling this in a plastic bag in terms of liters. Hence it can be found at iftaar table here, anywhere and everywhere!!
To my honesty I should say my family members including me consume more of this as it is very addictive!! Therefore I did observe that having this is more quantity everyday can lead to weight gain!! You got it right gaining weight...... So I came up with a low Carb Kanji
The actual version we need to cook rice in more water so that is it more of khichdi consistency add more water to keep it in liquid state and mushy. Rice water when discarded from rice is much more healthier and low in carb than to consume something along with cooked rice water. There was no difference in taste and was quiet light to gulp down more of it
Lets get to the process!!
Ingredients:
Over Cooked Rice out of 2 cups rice. Discard the rice water
Chicken Pieces - 4-5 / mince 1/4th cup or more
Vegetarians may opt using veggies like carrot, beans and peas
Onion - 2 sliced
Whole spices - cinnamon, cloves and cardamon (2 each)
Ginger garlic paste - 3-4 tsp heaped
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4th tsp
Mint Leaves - 1/4th cup
Coriander leaves - 1/4th cup
Tomatoes - 2 Roughly Chopped
Soaked Moong daal - 1/2 cup
Soaked fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 4-5 tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:
- Mash up the cooked rice nicely when it is still hot and keep adding water as you mash to dilute it to semi liquid form. Can make use of daal masher or just blend it if you like
- Heat oil in a pot add the whole spices then onion saute it for 2 mins or more in high flame,
- Add chicken pieces, Ginger garlic paste and cook for a min or 2 till raw smell of the ginger and garlic disappear
- Add in the chopped tomatoes, dry spices, mint and coriander leaves, moong daal and soaked methi seeds. Put the flame to medium and close the pot. Cook till the tomatoes turn mushy and daal is soft. This may take 7-10 mins. Keep stirring in between
- Once the tomatoes turn mushy and all the ingredients have mixed up well you can see oil leaving the sides
- Take out the chicken pieces and shred it with you hands when cool
- Now add the diluted rice to the masala and mix it. check for salt and Allow it to boil for few mins.
- When you find the consistency getting thicker add in hot water and continue to stir.
- Add in the shredded chicken and mix
- Once done you are ready to serve!!
- I Love to have it Hot Hot Its awesome when mixed with savories like mixtures and bajjis.
But you can have it when in room temp also it taste good both the ways :)
Consistency:
Here in this pic the consistency shows that of a porridge, I like this way more as it is filling to my tummy. Used bowls to serve!!
Others like to drink it so they add more water and cook it more as a liquid kind. Pour it in a glass and gulp down
When I say I eat Kanji my inlaws would say they drink it, I wonder at times this is what has to be expected when North meets south LOL!!
Notes:
You can make this with mutton mince / beef mince / chicken mince / mixed veggies as you wish
- When you use mince you dont have to shred as I did here!!
- Can be reheated easily
- Stays good refregirated for 2-3 days. Would change in taste if kept more than that.
- Adding hot water to dilute is much better coz it helps to retain the taste intact. Adding water of normal room temp will bland up the taste
- Add salt and spices as per your taste. The above mentioned spices are mild.
I should agree that at times my post goes too long and at times as never ending. This is simply because I like to be genuine and share every bit of information related to the recipe. I dont want my readers who want to try out the recipe to struggle as they cook. I feel its my duty to explain everything in detail so that my readers can experiment with my recipes hassle free!! The need to know the nature, place, conditions and cuisine is very important!! specially when a dish is made just once in a year, that too in a particular region and with particular styles.
I would surely post a quicky recipe of normal kanji made by pressure cook method
until next cya!!
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After 2yrs of blogging Finally I'am down to blog about kanji. Every time I click pics and want to post and each time I fail to do so.
Today is the day when finally I decided to post a quick and easy recipe as I finished my prayers and got free.
To People who dont know what is kanji
Kanji is a porridge made of rice mixed with spices and protein. Sometimes lentils are also added for a better taste which makes it more rich in protein content. It is specially made during Ramadan in south India at almost every household and also it is made widely in mosques for free distribution among the people who are fasting.
Anyone who does iftar in mosque gets for free, also distributed among households to anyone who comes with a container to take kanji. It is said that kanji cools the heated up stomach, gives high energy as it is made up of rice (its starch is used as well) Some amount of lentils, non veg and veg is added for protein and vitamins making it a full meals on its own. There are many variations of making kanji and nothing can beat the other.
Where starting from hyderabad to north delhi lucknow and other places haleem and khichda is dominating I can frankly speak that haleem and khichda carries lots of fats content very rich in nature and also very tideous to work with, draining our energy!! can be consumed limited due to its richness
When we speak about kanji, it is light, filling and nutritious in nature. Consumes less time and energy to be made. Kanji can be consumed till ur tummy fills in ;) trust me at this part :) sometimes people cant stop with just 1 serving, they want more more and more......
Here goes the recipe.
Ingredients:
Rice 1 cup
Moong daal 1/4th cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1tsp
Soak these together over night in water and ready to use next day!! This step is optional but I do it as it yields quick cooking and helps no gastric formation which can be caused by moong daal sometimes.
Ingredients:
Green Cardamon - 3
Cinnamon - 1inch
Oil / Ghee - 2tbsp
Chicken Mince / Mutton mince - 1/2cup
Ginger Garlic Paste- 2tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/4th tsp or more according to your taste
Tomatoes - 2 medium roughly chopped
Curd - 1tbsp (optional)
Salt to taste
Keep ready Coconut milk extract out of 1small coconut of half of 1 large coconut. This will include 1st milk and 2nd milk also 3rd if possible. This will be used at the end step.
Coriander leaves to garnish
Method
- In a pressure cooked add oil/ ghee allow it to heat.
- Once heated add cardamon and cinnamon stick, let it splutter, add all the other ingredients and saute it for a min or two.
- Add soaked & drained rice into the cooker and add 6-8 cups of water.
- Pressure cook it for 2 whistles and allow it to rest till the pressure release.
- Once pressure is released open the lid and mash it with a daal masher add coconut milk + water and adjust the salt.
- Bring it to boil once. Check the salt garnish it with coriander leaves.
- Serve Hot with your iftar :)
Notes:
- You can use whole pieces of boneless chicken and shred it later once its cooked and add it back to kanji.
- You can use chicken, mutton or beef as you like.
- You can add veggies of your choice.
- This proportion is perfect for 6-8 members in a family. You can adjust the proportion of rice to moong daal from 1/2 cup rice + 2tbsp moong daal for 4 people and 1/4th cup rice + 2tbsp moong daal for 2 person. Adjust the spices and other ingredients accordingly.
- You can add all the ingredients into pressure cooker including coconut milk minus some cups of water mentioned above and cook it around for 2-3 whistles. Lets the steam release open the lid and mash the content, Add more water to make it liquid if required. Adjust the salt as needed boil it once and serve.
For Vegetarians:
Add vegetables of your choice like Carrot, peas, beans, cabbage etc. To substitute non veg chewy thing add paneer pieces finely chopped or add soaked n boiled soya (cut into pieces)
* paneer n soya are great non-veg substitute for rich protein in this whole meal :)
Impression:
When I 1st opened the pressure cooker I felt oops so much of haldi? (turmeric) how will others eat but then I had no option other than to continue with the process. Once I added the coconut milk it gave me a lovely vibrant pleasing yellow color. I felt a gr8 wow inside!! so dont panic if you find it yellow yellow mixture before adding coconut milk :)
This was my 1st try with kanji coconut milk and the result was mind blowing.
My dad loved it as I do :) We had 2 bowl full without hesitation Tummy full hum dono khush khush :D
My mom was skeptical about it, as always :P she has her own ways of cooking and taste.
As she ate I kept watching her. Its her nature to try new things with a expression of refusal lol :P After having one bowl I asked if she wants more, she said no. within few mins she said give me more, me aur khush :P atleast my trial and pain to create something new dint go in vain. She loved it too.
So do not hesitate to try this recipe its really yumm and easy to make light on tummy specially for iftar :)
Got more kanji recipes which will be shared shortly, Until then Cya!!
Dont forget write back your views, Quires, and your trial with my recipes in comment section, for sure it will help newbies of cooking!!
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