Kanji Indian Kombucha Healthy Fermented Drink Playful Cooking

I can’t find red carrots here, so I went with the regular orange carrot with a mix of beetroot which gave this beautiful pink shade. I had Kanji for the first time only few years back, when we visited India during winter. My Mother-in-law had three jars in the balcony soaking up the winter sun. Two of that were pickle and one really big jar had this purple drink – Kanji! At first, I was unsure, didn’t exactly liked the smell upon sniffing. But then as I strained and took a sip, it felt so refreshing with just the right amount of sour taste.

Kanji’s health Benefits:

Rich in antioxidantsRich in dietary fiber, vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, and manganeseKnown to boost your digestion during the winter season

Kanji needs just 5 ingredients:

CarrotsBeetsMustard seeds (I used yellow, but you can use black too or a mix of both)Black PepperSalt

How to prepare Kanji

Coarsely crush the mustard seeds along with black pepper and add it to a big glass pitcher.To the same pitcher drop the sliced carrots and sliced beet roots.Add water, salt and cover the jar with a muslin cloth.Keep it in a sunny spot and let it ferment for 5 to 6 days. Stir once every day.Strain and enjoy it with some fresh mint and ice cubes if you like.

I use a glass pitcher to ferment Kanji and then use another glass jar to store it in the refrigerator. Once it’s fermented, strain and store in the refrigerator before you start pouring yourself a glass. It tastes best cold!

Adding variations to Kanji

You can add other dried spices, eg: bay leaf, cardamoms, clove. Try different vagetables, eg: add celery sticks, watermenlon rind or turnip. Keep in mind that fermented drinks always needs some sort of sugar for the fermentation to happen. So if you choose to use vegetables that doesn’t contains much sugar, then add some honey or few raisins. The combination of beetroot and carrots work best as you get the natural sweetness along with the gorgeous vibrant color. Don’t discard the veggie strips. You can use it in salad or make pickle with it.