Kanji - Rice Gruel - Rice Porridge with coconut chutney

Good Friday tradition at home was church service followed by a hearty rice gruel or porridge called Kanji served with coconut chutney and pickle.  I love kanji and make it every now and again in winter as it is easy to make and easy to eat.  Since it is rather bland, it is served with hot and spicy pickles chutneys and pappadams.  

This Good Friday I made this kanji is in memory of my father who was a huge fan. He would eat kanji with the usual accompaniments and a large hot green chilli. Today I have served it with a deep fried curd chilli - which is  chilli soaked in buttermilk and sun dried.  It is available in most Indian grocery stores in Melbourne. Before you serve it, you deep fry it.  It is crisp, hot spicy and salty.  There are several types of kanji - the one I have made today is with broken red rice and mung beans.

Ingredients:

Broken Kerala Rosematta rice, washed - 1 cup
(I have used this rice as it reminds me of home.  You can use any short grained rice that you like)
Green Mung beans - washed and soaked overnight - 1 cup
(Again, you can add more or less of the mung beans. You can also add urid dal - a type of lentil in your kanji instead of or along with the rice.)
Garlic - 5 or 6 cloves
Fenugreek - 1/2 teaspoon
Shredded Coconut - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Water - 7-8 cups

Method: 

In a large saucepan, boil the water with 1 teaspoon salt.  When the water comes to a rolling boil, add the fenugreek, garlic and mung beans.  Boil for 10 minutes and then add the rice.  

Cook till the rice becomes soft. (If you take a couple of grains of rice and squish it between your thumb and forefinger, it should mash straight away. That is how you know that the rice is fully cooked.) 

Ensure there is a couple of cups of excess water in your kanji. Turn off the stove, check for salt and add if needed.  Garnish with shredded coconut.

Serve hot with fried sardines, pappadams, coconut chutney, mango pickle and a deep fried curd chilli.

The must have accompaniment with your kanji is a coconut chutney.  The coconut chutney is hot and tangy and is the perfect side dish for the bland kanji.  

Grind together 1 cup of desiccated coconut, 1 teaspoon cummin seeds, 5-6 green chillies, 1 inch piece of tamarind and a clove of garlic.  Add just enough water and salt to taste and put together the coconut chutney.  

Back home kanji is served in a clay bowl with a jack fruit leaf made into a spoon.  That is an experience that stays with you - the smells, flavours and the rustic taste is something you will never forget.  Here is what a jack fruit leaf spoon looks like: 

Photograph courtesy: Bowgainvilla Alleppey