Kanji Tones the Blood, Cleanses the Liver & Aids Digestion
Abundant with probiotics from the fermentation process, kanji makes an excellent daily restorative. Drink about half a cup first thing each morning to awaken your body, mind and spirit to another glorious day.
This kanji gets its gorgeous deep violet hue from beets. The many health benefits of both the beets and the carrots are amplified through the culturing process. Along with them you receive a beneficial dose of probiotics to help balance gut function and improve digestion.
Kanji made with golden beets becomes a golden elixir with a milder beet flavor. Perfect for those of you who shy away from beet’s distinctive earthiness.
Kvass
Last year during “Fermentation January” I shared a recipe for kvass, the long revered Eastern European cultured beet tonic. Kanji is as easily and similarly made as kvass. The few days of lacto-fermentation required for both kanji and kvass boosts their nutrition, produces probiotic organisms and increases the vitamins and enzymes. Kanji’s mild spiciness from mustard seeds, green chile and pepper flakes sets it apart from kvass. And, makes it my favorite of these two cultured vegetable tonics.
A taste of kanji
Join me in a Fermentation Workshop on Saturday, January 25th from 10:30 till about 2:30.
- Taste kanji and see how easy it is to make.
- Gain a basic understanding of the art of fermentation.
- Sample and learn to prepare a variety of appetizers, condiments, pickles and a dessert.
- Make and take home a jar of White Kimchi.
- Receive all recipes and enjoy Kimchi Omelets w/ Kale & Green Onions for lunch.
- Workshop fee of $70 payable upon registration.
To reserve your seat at the table
Send me a comment in the “Leave a Reply” box below or email me: Janice@EverydayHealthyEverydayDelicious.com
Kanji — Cultured Beet & Carrot Supertonic 
Inspired by and slightly adapted from a recipe from Wardeh Harmon’s book
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Fermenting Foods.
This lightly spicy lacto-fermented beverage is a variation on the traditional Northern Indian kanji made with their local black carrots.
The same vegetables make two batches of kanji. Temperature makes a difference in the fermentation time. Taste after two days. During the colder temperatures of winter, you may want to ferment kanji for an additional 12-24 hours to achieve the taste you prefer.
Makes: over ½ gallon between two batches
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 4-6 days of fermentation
8 ounces beets, washed, trimmed and cut into ¾-inch dice (1½-1¾ cups)
3½ ounces carrots, washed, trimmed and cut into ½-inch dice (¾-1cup)
1 Serrano chile, stem removed, halved and cut into 6-8 pieces
¼ teaspoon (or more to taste) Aleppo pepper or other red chile flakes
1 tablespoon whole yellow or brown mustard seeds (brown mustard seeds are spicier)
1½ tablespoons high-quality salt; plus scant ½ tablespoon salt for second batch
¼ cup whey
about 5½ cups water
Batch Number One
Place the diced beets and carrots into a half-gallon glass jar. Add the Serrano pepper, Aleppo pepper flakes, mustard seeds, salt and whey. Add the water, leaving one-inch of air space between the top of the water and the top of the jar. Tightly cover the jar. Ferment the kanji for 2-3 days at room temperature.- Strain out one quart of the liquid into a quart jar leaving behind the solid ingredients with the remaining liquid. Cover the quart jar and refrigerate it. This kanji is now ready to drink.
Batch Number Two
Add a scant ½ tablespoon of salt to the remaining ingredients. Fill the jar with water. Again leave one-inch of air space between the top of the water and the top of the jar. Tightly cover the jar. Ferment the kanji for another 2-3 days at room temperature.- Strain the liquid into two quart jars. I like to combine the two batches and then fill my jars. Cover the jars and refrigerate the kanji.
- Discard or compost the solid ingredients. Though some people say they eat the vegetables. To me they seem to have given their all to the making of the kanji.
Note: Wardeh suggests substituting kanji from a previous batch for the whey when you next prepare a fresh batch of kanji.
This looks delicious and so healthy! I can’t wait to try this recipe. I’ve been making whey and raw yogurt from raw fresh organic green fed local cow milk. I’ll use my own whey when I try this. (I’ll do it my whey!)
Janice, How about filming your upcoming Fermentation Workshop and posting it for those who can’t be there? I’d love it! I think traditional cultured and fermented foods are key to so many people’s good health. It’s great that we have teachers like you to help us learn how to ferment and prepare cultured foods your own whey!
Thanks for posting such healthy and delicious recipes. 🙂
You are so welcome, Lisa.
Oh so fortunate you are to have access to raw milk for your yogurt/whey.
Filming the workshop is a great idea. Unfortunately it wouldn’t work well in this particular small kitchen. So if you could fly in to Bozeman for the weekend of the 25th, there’s still room for one more.
You are so right regarding cultured and fermented foods as key to good health. I so enjoy teaching others to add these powerhouse foods to their diets. Enjoy your kanji!
If I use frozen beets and carrots from my fall garden, will the benefits be the same, or will I loose some using frozen product? Thank you.
Chris, I’ve never used frozen vegetables in any of the ferments I’ve made. I asked Cultures for Health and they said they didn’t know if it would work or not–but to let them know if it does. My own gut feeling is that if the fermentation process works, you would still have enough benefits to make it worthwhile to give it a try. An important aside: did you blanch your veggies before freezing them? That might kill off the natural bacteria and keep them from successfully fermenting.
It would be great to hear from others if they’ve successfully used frozen vegetables. Thanks for asking, Chris.