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    Whisk Affair » Recipes » Festival » Holi » Kanji Vada

    Published: Mar 11, 2020 | Last Updated On: Sep 20, 2020 by Neha Mathur

    Kanji Vada

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    Kanji Vada is a traditional Rajasthani dish where lentil fritters are added in a mustard fermented water. It is a must make for the Holi festival. Here is how to make it.

    If you want to try more Rajasthani recipes, then give these also a try – Rajasthani Ker Sangri, Panchmel Dal, Rajasthani Baati, Rajasthani Haldi Ki Sabzi, Rajasthani Namkeen Oliya, and Rajasthani Mirchi Vada.

    Kanji Vada served in a bowl.
    Jump to:
    • About This Recipe
    • Ingredients
    • Step By Step Recipe
    • Recipe Card

    About This Recipe

    Kanji Vada is a traditional Rajasthani dish, where crispy fried lentil vadas are dipped into mustard flavored fermented water or as called “Rai Ka Paani”. It is also made in some parts of UP and even in some Mathur households in Delhi.

    The vadas in this dish are made with a combination of moong dal and urad dal, making it a high protein dish. These vadas are flavored with green chilies, ginger, and salt.

    They are then fried and soaked into a mildly spicy fermented mustard water known as Kanji.

    Make sure once you dip these vadas in the kanji, let them soak for 4 to 5 minutes before serving so that it soaks up the mustard flavor well

    You should make the Kanji 3-4 day before so that the flavours come out nicely.

    Chakundar Kanji or Beetroot Kanji is also popular in the state and is prepared especially during the festival of Holi. You can even add black carrots to kanji.

    To make the Beetroot Kanji Vada, the vada recipe will remain the same, but the Kanji will differ a bit. In the Kanji, along with the mentioned ingredients, peeled carrots and beetroot are also added and then fermented. Beetroot gives a nice bright pink color to this drink, which makes it even more appealing.

    This Kanji Vada is a great food that promotes aids digestion and also keeps your digestive system stable. It also detoxifies the liver, and thus promoting healthy digestion.

    These Kanji Vada are,

    • Vegan
    • Delicious
    • Spicy & Tangy
    • Flavourful
    • A popular snack in Rajasthan

    Ingredients

    Kanji Vada Ingredients.

    For the Kanji: For kanji, we will need water, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and yellow mustard powder. Mustard Powder adds a tangy aromatic taste, that enhances even more when fermented. You can use black mustard powder too.

    For Vada: Vada is prepared with the combination of two dals, moong dal, and urad dal. Both are soaked for 5-6 hours.

    For vada, you will need green chilies, salt, and ginger too, which adds a little spiciness to the Vadas.

    It is then deep fried in oil. You can use any vegetable oil to deep fry these Dal Vadas.

    For Soaking: For soaking, we will add a little salt and hing in the water and then deep the vadas. Let it soak for at least 10 minutes so that they become nice and soft.

    Step By Step Recipe

    For Kanji:

    Boil the water and let it cool for some time.

    Water boiling in a pan.

    Add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and mustard powder in the water. Transfer the Kanji in a glass jar and cover the mouth of the jar with a muslin cloth. Place the jar in the sun for 4-5 days for fermentation. Bring the jar back inside at night and put it back again in the morning. Shake the jar everyday before keeping it in the sun.

    Salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and mustard powder added in the pan.
    Ready kanji.

    For Vada:

    Wash and soak moong dal and urad dal in water for 5-6 hours.

    Soaked moong dal and urad dal.

    Drain the water and add the dal in a grinder along with salt, chilli and ginger.

    Drained lentils added in a grinder along with salt, chilli and ginger.

    Add some water and grind to make a smooth batter. 

    Smooth paste made.

    The consistency of the batter should be like pakodi batter. Whisk the batter well until it is very light and fluffy.

    Batter whisked until light and fluffy.

    Heat oil for frying the vada. When the oil is hot, drop small vada in hot oil and fry on low heat until browned.

    Vada dropped in hot oil.

    Remove the vada from oil and keep aside.

    Fried vada.

    For Soaking:

    Mix hing and salt in warm water.

    Hing and salt added in warm water.

    When ready to serve, add vada in warm water and let them soak for 10 minutes.

    Vada soaked in water.

    Remove the vada from the water and press them to remove any excess watering them.

    Vada removed from the water and pressed.

    Pour kanji in serving bowls. Add vada in the bowl and let them soak the kanji of 4-5 minutes. Serve.

    Ready kanji vada soaked in Kanji.

    Recipe Card

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    Kanji Vada is a traditional Rajasthani dish where lentil fritters are added in a mustard fermented water. It is a must make for the Holi festival. Here is how to make it.

    Kanji Vada Recipe

    Kanji Vada is a traditional Rajasthani dish where lentil fritters are added in a mustard fermented water. It is a must make for Holi festival. Here is how to make it.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: Indian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes
    Servings: 8 people
    Calories: 91kcal
    Author: Neha Mathur

    Ingredients 

    For Kanji:

    • 2 ltr Water
    • 4 teaspoon Salt
    • 2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
    • 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
    • 5 teaspoon Yellow Mustard (made into a coarse powder)

    For Vada:

    • ½ cup Dhuli Moong Dal
    • ½ cup Dhuli Urad Dal
    • Salt (to taste)
    • 2 teaspoon Green Chillies (chopped)
    • 1 inch Ginger (chopped)
    • Oil (as required, for frying)

    For Soaking:

    • ½ ltr Water
    • ¼ teaspoon Hing
    • ½ teaspoon Salt
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    Instructions

    For Kanji:

    • Boil the water and let it cool for sometime.
    • Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and mustard powder in the water.
    • Transfer the Kanji in a glass jar and cover the mouth of the jar with a muslin cloth.
    • Place the jar in the sun for 4-5 days for fermentation.
    • Bring the jar back inside at night and put it back again in the morning.
    • Shake the jar everyday before keeping it in the sun.
    • The Kanji will turn slightly sour once it’s ready to consume.
    • Always stir the kanji nicely before serving.

    For Vada:

    • Wash and soak moong dal and urad dal in water for 5-6 hours.
    • Drain the water and add the dal in a grinder along with salt, chilli and ginger.
    • Add some water and grind to make a smooth batter.
    • The consistency of the batter should be like pakodi batter.
    • Whisk the batter well until it is very light and fluffy.
    • Heat oil for frying the vada.
    • When the oil is hot, drop small vada in hot oil and fry on low heat until browned.
    • Remove the vada from oil an keep aside.

    For Soaking:

    • Mix hing and salt in warm water.
    • When ready to serve, add vada in warm water and let them soak for 10 minutes.
    • Remove the vada from the water and press them to remove any excess watering them.
    • Pour kanji in serving bowls.
    • Add vada in the bowl and let them soak the kanji of 4-5 minutes. Serve.

    Notes

    Make the Kanji 3-4 days in advance.
    Make the vada the same day of serving. 
    You can store the extra vadas in refrigerator. Just soak them in hot water and then in kanji before serving.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 91kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1359mg | Potassium: 250mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 2mg
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