Kanji Vada

Kanji Vada is a popular digestive beverage of North India. Kanji pani or rai ka pani is a famous drink of streets of Rajasthan. It is also a local delight of Gujarat. This tangy street side beverage may aid your digestion. Kanji vada is prepared with rai (Mustard seeds), asafoetida and salt served along with moong dal vada.

Kanji Vada is one such dish that is savoured during the festival. In India celebrations are synonymous to good food. This is a perfect beverage for your Holi celebration. It is made during Holi so that we can digest the heavy food consumed during festival. Because of its digestive property, it can be made at any time. It detoxes your system and is good for the liver.

Kanji is made either by boiling water or useing mineral water. Rai are grounded and added in the water to give tangy taste. You can use grinded red mustard seeds which called rai or use the yellow sarson. So try this refreshing drink.

Ingredients:

1 ltr. Water
A small pinch heeng (asafoetida)
¼ tsp. red chilli powder
1 tbsp. Rai (Mustard Seeds)
Salt as per the taste

For vada –

1 cup yellow moong dal
Oil for frying

Instructions:

Take water in a vessel and boil. After boiling let it cool down completely. If you are using mineral water, here is no need to boil.
Grind rai coarsely in a grinder. Add heeng, rai, salt and red chilli powder into water. Mix them properly. Cover this and keep aside for 3-4 days in warm place. Keep stirring the water 2-3 times a day.
After that if kanji gives sour and tangy taste, it is done. Now make vada for kanji.

Process of Vada –

Wash yellow moong dal with water properly and soak for 2 hours.

Then drain excess water and grind into a medium thick and smooth paste.

Take out the grinded dal into a bowl. Beat this grinded dal in one direction to make it light and fluffy. You can use your fingers or beater. It will take approx. 5-10 minutes.
Heat enough oil in a pan or kadhai on medium flame.
Drop small vadas into oil using your fingers. Drop 8-10 vadas at a time or as many as possible.

Reduce heat medium to low and deep fry the vadas. Stir continuously till they turn golden brown from all sides.

When the vadas fluff up, and become golden-brown, drain out them to remove excess oil and keep aside.

Dip all these vadas into kanji and keep this for one day so that vadas can soak sour water completely and give sour and tangy taste.

Serve plenty of kanji with vadas.

Tips:

• Do not keep this kanji for long time as it spoils after 8-10 days. You can refrigerate this.
• You can use yellow mustard instead of rai.
• You can use yellow chilli powder in place of red chilli powder.
• You can add carrots and beetroot in kanji.
• You can also add boondi.