Gajar ki Kanji | Carrot Kanji Recipe

Gajar ki Kanji or Carrot Kanji recipe with step by step photos.Kaali gajar ki kanji is a fermented drink made with purple/black carrots during the winters in North India. Kanji is a traditional drink of Punjab which is spicy,sour and pungent at the same time.Not everyone likes it for the first time, it is an acquired taste but I just loved the drink the very first time I tried.It is a very quick recipe to prepare but takes time to ferment roughly 3-5 days based on the climatic conditions at your place.The ingredients used in the recipe are fairly simple - mustard seeds, red chili powder,salt and water. Mustard seed powder when fermented adds a nice pungent taste to the drink.Kanji is a probiotic drink which is good for your gut flora and it is usually taken during winters in the North to keep the body warm.It can be served as an appetizer or along with your meals.

I got introduced to this drink by a punjabi neighbor of mine when we were staying in Mumbai. I loved the taste of the drink the moment I had, it was something different and unique for my taste buds and I instantly fell in love with it. Later when she described the process of preparing it my curiosity began more.She had prepared it with the regular carrots and beetroot as the purple carrots are not available in Mumbai. I somehow was never confident to prepare it as the fermentation process using the natural sun light was something which I was not confident about.But when I spotted these purple carrots in Singapore, I knew that I would prepare this Kanji for sure.

Surprisingly, though TH stayed in Delhi through out his education he never had this drink and hence it was new to him.I am glad that I tried it on my own, we just loved this drink and had good kanji time daily for a few days until the kanji lasted.The carrot batons fermented in the kanji was a great accompaniment along with our meals, it had the sour and slight fermented taste which was delicious.

I was planning to post this recipe for Holi but my travel plans had kept me busy and hence I could not post it.Anyways, better late than never I am posting my new favorite drink-Kanji recipe.I could not control taking photos of these lovely colored Kanji and hence posting so many pictures of it.

Check out Kaali Gajar ki Kanji Recipe with step by step photos here:

Kaali Gajar ki Kanji | Carrot Kanji Recipe:

shelf life: 3-4 weeks | Author: Prathibha

Prep time: 10 mins | Fermentation time: 3-4 days | Total time: 3 days

Cuisine: North Indian | Category: Beverages

Ingredients:

4-5 large Black/Purple Carrots( or 4 large Carrot and 1 medium Beetroot)

2 liters Water

1-1.5 tsp Red chili powder

2.5-3 tbsp Mustard powder

2 tsp Black salt

Salt,to taste

Method:

• Sterilize the glass/ceramic jars and let them dry and keep them ready.
• Dry grind the mustard seeds(roughly 2.5 tbsp) and keep the powder ready.

• Wash and wipe the purple carrots(or beetroots and regular carrots) and peel them and cut into 1 inch long thin batons as shown in the picture.

• Divide the cut carrots(and beetroot pieces if using regular carrots) into the jars according to the size of the jar used by you.

• Add red chili powder, mustard powder, black salt and required amount of regular salt to the jars and pour water to the rim and mix it nicely.Taste the liquid and add more salt or red chili powder if needed.

• Cover it with the lid or muslin cloth and keep it in a place where it gets nice sun light.
• You need to keep it in sun for 3-4 days by mixing the liquid daily using a clean and dry long wooden spoon/spatula.

• Once the drink starts tasting sour(it usually may start on 3 rd day) which indicates that the kanji is ready to be served.If it is not sour continue to keep for a day or more.The fermentation process differ from place to place based on the climatic conditions of the place.
• Refrigerate it and serve it either chilled or at room temperature.Strain the carrot pieces and the kanji can be stored until a month in the refrigerator.

You can strain the carrot pieces from the liquid and serve it as a salad or pickle with your regular meal, it tastes quite nice!

Notes:

1. I have used purple/black carrots in the recipe.One can easily make it with the regular carrots and beetroot added for the color.
2. You can even add turnip pieces in the drink.
3. Adjust the amount of red chili powder and black salt according to your taste buds.Some like it spicy and some like it sour,so add accordingly.
4. You can dip urad dal vadas in the kanji to make flavorful kanji vadas. The vadas absorb the flavors of kanji and turn sour and tastes absolutely delicious, which is a delicacy from the North and Rajasthan.
5. You can store it in refrigerator for upto a month.Strain the carrot pieces and serve it as a salad or pickle along with your meals.
6. You can jazz up the raithas and dips with the finely chopped fermented bits of these carrots, it takes them to the new level.Also you can use it as a pickled vegetable along with lettuce,pickled cucumbers in the wraps.

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