Kanji Vada is a traditional Rajasthani dish where lentil fritters are added to fermented mustard water. It is a must-make dish for the Holi festival. Learn to make it using my easy recipe (vegan).

About Kanji Vada

Kanji Vada is a traditional Rajasthani dish, where crispy fried lentil vadas are dipped into mustard-flavored fermented water (kanji) or “Rai Ka Paani.” It is also made in some parts of UP and 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.

Once you dip the vadas in the kanji, let them soak for 4 to 5 minutes before serving so that they soak up the mustard flavor well.

You should make the Kanji 3-4 days in advance to ferment well and for the flavors to come out nicely.

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

This recipe is vegan and can be easily doubled or tripled.

If you want to try more Rajasthani recipes, give these also a try

• Rajasthani Ker Sangri
• Panchmel Dal
• Rajasthani Baati
• Rajasthani Haldi Ki Sabzi
• Rajasthani Namkeen Oliya

Ingredients

For The Kanji

To make Kanji, you will need water, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and yellow mustard seeds powder.

Mustard powder ferments and gives a tangy, aromatic taste to kanji. Powder yellow mustard seeds in a spice grinder or use store-bought powder.

You can replace yellow mustard seeds with black mustard seeds, but the flavor could be different.

You can add some chopped beetroot, black carrots, or red carrots to the kanji for a taste change.

For The Vada

Vada is prepared with two lentils, yellow moong dal (split, skinned green moong lentils) and white urad dal (split, skinned black lentils).

You will also need green chilies, salt, and fresh ginger.

Vadas are deep-fried in oil. You can use any neutral-flavored cooking oil to deep fry these dal vadas.

For The Soaking

For soaking the vadas, you will need water, salt, and asafetida (hing)

How To Make Kanji Vada

Make The Kanji

Kanji must be made 3-4 days in advance to ferment well.

Boil 2 liters of water over high heat. Remove the pot from the heat and let the water cool down for 10 minutes.

Add

• 4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 5 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds powder

and stir well.

Transfer the Kanji to a glass jar and cover the mouth of the jar with a muslin cloth.

Place the jar in the sun for 3-4 days for fermentation. Bring the jar back inside at night and put it back again in the morning. Shake the jar every day before keeping it back in the sun.

Refrigerate the ready kanji for up to 4-5 days.

Make The Vada

Wash ½ cup of yellow moong dal and ½ cup of white urad dal with water.

Soak the dals in 2-3 cups of water for 5-6 hours.

Drain the water and add the soaked dal to a grinder with

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon chopped green chilies
• 2 teaspoon chopped ginger

Add ¼ cup of water and blend to make a smooth batter. 

The consistency of the batter should be like pakodi batter. Transfer the batter to a large bowl.

Whisk the batter well until it is very light and fluffy. You can use a handheld blender or a stand mixer to whisk the batter.

Heat 3-4 cups of oil for frying the vada over medium heat.

When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium-low and drop 8-10 small vada in hot oil. Fry until they turn light brown.

Remove the vada from the oil and keep them aside. Fry all the vadas in the same manner.

Soak The Vada

Mix ¼ teaspoon asafetida and ½ teaspoon salt in ½ liter warm water.

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 water in them.

Pour chilled kanji into serving bowls. Add 1-2 vadas to each bowl and let them soak the kanji for 4-5 minutes. Serve.