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Spring Time Drink



Once we get past the piping hot teas and hot chocolates of January and before the cool summer drinks kick in, my mother makes kanji. Spring is the time when purple carrots, the color of beets, come into season. Between February and March, a clay pot (called a ghada back home) is filled with kanji, the drink constantly replenished with a fresh batch as the previous one runs out. We drink it whenever we pass through the kitchen, even though the tangy kanji gives us a sore throat. It's that delicious!

I'm going to give you my mother's recipe, but please tweak it if it doesn't work for you. Mom never measures anything and these are simply best estimates.

First, find yourself a clay or ceramic pot with at least a 3 liter capacity. A glass jar will do in a pinch. Peel half a kilo of purple carrots and cut them into one inch long batons. Drop these into your jar with 2 liter water. Coarsely grind 2 tbsp of brown mustard seeds and add them to the mix alongwith 2 tbsp salt and 1/2 tsp red chilli powder. Mix well, then set it aside for 3-4 days, stirring up the mixture once a day. By the end of the 4 day resting period, the water will take the color from the carrots and the tang from the mustard. And the carrots are delicious enough to eat too.
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Comments

Indian Khana said…
Very unique and new for me and looks gud
March 1, 2011 at 2:15 PM
Chitra said…
New to me.. sounds delicious :)
March 1, 2011 at 3:38 PM
lubnakarim06 said…
Something new to me...looks yum..
March 1, 2011 at 6:24 PM
CurryLeaf said…
never ever worked with purple carrots.unique and interesting recipe Simran.
BTW,flipkart flipped,book will be delayed by 12 days coz of customs shutdown due to budget. How about urs?Have u recvd it?
March 1, 2011 at 6:49 PM
FewMinute Wonders said…
Hi Simran,

I have not heard of such a drink in the south. Looks interesting. If I can find a clay pot maybe I would love to give this one a try.
March 1, 2011 at 10:39 PM
Unknown said…
Never heard of this drink, but it sure looks interesting!!
March 6, 2011 at 6:02 PM
chef and her kitchen said…
I have tasted this drink today at my neighbors place today who is a punjabi,then I suddenly remembered your post..:)
so came back n chked ur space 4 d recipe..she also mentioned d same,just that she added green chili instead of red chili powder.As purple carrots r not available in bombay,she used red carrots n beetroot for the color...it tasted yumm..
March 9, 2011 at 10:47 AM
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