Have you heard of Kanji? Eee what?………Is this another new food trend.
I think it should be. Kanji is a fermented drink from India. Did you know Indian cuisine has an array of fermented foods not so known outside India. Fermented foods are very popular and widely made in Indian homes. Foods like achar Indian pickled vegetables, fermented batter for Dosa and idli, homemade yogurt and lassi, and of course kanji.
Kanji is a unique fermented drink popular in north India specially in the cooler months. This drink is a bit of an acquired taste, it’s like drinking a milder form of kraut juice, but I can assure you anyone whose tried it seem to like it. It’s a perfect pick- me-up on a hot day while providing gut healthy probiotics. Think of this as an Indian kombucha.
As with all fermented foods and drinks you need a good starter or sometimes called mother. It can be as simple as salt massaged over vegetables. If this is your first time there’s no need to buy starters for kanji, start with sauerkraut juice. Press about 1/4 cup juice from your sauerkraut and use that as a starter. Then for subsequent batches use kanji from the previous batch. Just remember to save about 1/4 cup in a covered jar and leave it in the back of your fridge.
For the first batch add a teaspoon of sea salt or Himalayan pink salt to massage the chopped vegetables. Salting kills the bad bacteria so the good bacteria can flourish. The good bacteria converts the natural sugars in the vegetables into lactic acid. This lactic acid gives the delicious tart flavor to the drink. This process is also called lacto fermentation. More on this in a later blog post.
Anyway! The drink is full of beneficial bacteria also called probiotics and enzymes. If you’re looking to improve your gut health, fewer allegeries, better skin then introduce your body to some probiotic fermenting drink.
I’m experimenting with other Lacto fermenting recipes so stay tuned,
A few things to note.
- I used 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt for every cup of vegetables.
- Stir the drink few times a day.
- Fermentation time may vary depending on room temperature and season.
- remember to salt the vegetables and let it sit before you add the water.
- Taste the drink a few times to check your taste preference. The longer it stays the stronger the taste.
- If this is your first time drink a small shot, about 3-4 fl oz, for your body to adjust, not a full 8 fl oz drink. It is full of probiotics goodness, but it can also make your bowels active if you know what I mean😉
- Don’t peel the skin of the vegetables, they have essential enzymes that help ferment the vegetables. Simply scrub and use.
Ingredients
- 1 large carrot, purple colored preferred, scrubbed, not peeled
- 1 large beet, any color, scrubbed, not peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns
- ¼ cup sauerkraut or kanji from a previous batch
- 1 tablespoon black mustard seeds, optional
- 1 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/4 cup Sauerkraut juice or an additional 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- About 7-8 cups filtered water
Method
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Cut the prepared carrot and beet into ½-inch cubes.
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Place them in a 2-quart glass bottle or jar. Add the salt and mix well till the vegetables turn a little moist and start to give out water. Now add the kraut juice or kanji, black pepper, mustard seeds, salt, and top it with filtered water to fill the jar.
- Leave a gap of 1 inch on top.
- Cover loosely with a cheese cloth and secure with a rubber band forth drink to breathe.
- Place the jar in a cool spot covered with a tea towel. ( I placed it in a corner on my kitchen counter.) at least 2 days in warmer months and uptown 5 days in cooler months.
- fermentation depends on the kitchen temperature and how tangy you like it
- To serve; Pour into glasses, with a few of the fermented carrot and beet pieces and enjoy, if you like fermented vegetables. The kanji will keep covered refrigerated for up to 1 month.
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