The Humble Kerala Red Rice Kanjhi.

Uppu Naranga (Narthangai)

In my young days (and even now) when one fell sick with a cold, fever or flu, the main meals (?) will consist of Kanjhi (ക ഞ്ഞി - rice gruel), coal fire roasted papadams and, maybe, a piece of sun-dried salted lime pickle (narthangai). The kanjhi is invariably made of broken Kerala red rice (matta ari) and is the simplest of simple rice preparations ever. Just wash the broken rice and cook with a LOT of water. When it is cooked, you will have 50% or more of water along with some cooked broken red rice! This was/is supposed to be of great sustenance value in terms of nutrition (all that good starch) and easy digestibility. A true soul food, indeed. Invariably, it kept the body hydrated and did not overload the stomach. Of course, for anyone that sick to have the Kanjhi, everything would taste like cardboard. That is to say, in spite of the great benefits of this simple soul food, most of us hated it. Period.

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Some of us got to partake the Kanji ONLY when we were sick. However, the traditional Kanjhi WAS literally a staple and main portion of the daily meals, especially dinner, for a great lot of people in Kerala those days. It was so part of the daily meals that nobody would ask you whether you had your lunch or dinner (ഊ ണു ക ഴി ച്ചോ?). Instead, they will ask you if you had Kanjhi (ക ഞ്ഞി കു ടി ച്ചോ?). This traditional kanjhi does not come with any complex recipe. Just slightly overcook red rice in a lot of water. The cooking generally is a slow process of 3 to 4 hours over a low fire. For dinner, it is served hot in a bowl, with some salt added, and may be accompanied with pappadams, vegetables, chutneys, cooked lentils, etc., or raw onions and green chillies, depending on what one could afford. Jackfruit leaf was modified into a soup spoon (Plaavila Kori or Kumbil) to eat the Kanjhi. Imagine, a farm worker bringing kanjhi for lunch, with a couple raw onions and green chillies. He/she will go pick up a jackfruit leaf and make a spoon out of it, sit under a tree and have his/her lunch. How can a meal be more humble?

Kanjhi with Plaavila Kumbil

A kanjhi dinner, on a cold rainy night, could be the most satisfying meal in the world for the uninitiated. I would tend to think that people used to drink kanjhi since they could not afford to have regular meals. Money and affordability was hard those days. Everyone had to work and most of them did hard work in the fields. It was necessary that people went to bed with a full stomach and the kanjhi satisfied that requirement. There are still many who follow the Kanjhi tradition in Kerala, for whatever reasons - affordability, simplicity, fancy, etc. In most of Kerala, especially the Southern parts of the state, the Kanjhi (with many embellishments) is offered as a delicacy in many up-scale restaurants. The embellishments render the Kanjhi less humble than it is really meant to be, but may succeed in tickling one's palate as a novelty.

But there were the very rare days when even us, who saw Kanjhi only when sick, were treated to full-bodied Kanjhi for dinner. We used to surreptitiously mix some ghee with it (ghee was not allowed in our household for dinner) and a bit of salt. On the side would be some fire roasted papadams and either muthira chammanthi (kollu thokayal) or muthira (kollu) puzhukku. Served hot, the Kanjhi dinner is always filling and satisfying and healthy.

At least one friend of mine has Kanjhi for dinner once a week. We prepare red rice Kanjhi and thokayal or puzhukku every once in a while when we feel like detoxing. Carbs or no carbs, the kanjhi meal has invariably low calories and has all the nutrition values of whole rice. We love it.

Horse gram is a very nutritious legume. Look up its benefits in Google.

Palakkadan Matta Rice

Red Rice Kanjhi:

Process: Use a 5 cup pressure cooker to cook 1.5 cups of red rice (Matta Rice - broken or whole) in 4 cups of water. Let it cook well (about 20 whistles). Once the pressure goes down, remove the lid and see if you need to add more water. If so, add required boiling water to it and simmer it for about an hour. Your Kanjhi is ready.
 (If you can't get red rice, you may try it with any other parboiled rice.)

Kollu Thokayal/Thuvaiyal (Muthira Chammanthi)

Muthira Chammanthi

Ingredients:
Muthira (Horsegram) - 1 portion
Grated Coconu - 1/2 portion
Red Chillies - 1 or 2 (depends on one's heat tolerance)
Salt to taste

Process: (Ensure that the muthira is free of small stones, sand etc. Wash and dry it if needed. )
Roast the Muthira without burning it. Blend it with coconut and red chillies to almost a fine paste. Add
required salt and mix well.

Kollu Puzhukku (Muthira Puzhukku)

Ingredients:
Muthira (Horse Gram) - 1 portion
Raw Banana (Optional) - 1/2 per cup of muthira
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp per cup of muthira
Green chillies - slit - 2 or 3
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Coconut Oil - 2 teaspoons or more depending on the quantity

Process:
Wash the muthira and get rid of any stones or sand. Soak in water for 5 to 6 hours. Pressure cook (6 or 7 whistles) the muthira till it is well cooked. Cut the raw banana into small cubes and cook separately. Once cooked, add to the muthira and add salt. Cook in low fire for 15 minutes. Take care not to add too much water. Once the mix gets almost dry, add coconut, green chillies, curry leaves and coconut oil. Mix well and remove from the heat.

(Reposted from my Facebook page)