Rice Kanji is a natural homemade probiotics made with rice ,water and homemade curds ( dahi ) . This is a good old traditional recipe passed from genertions to keep a healthy gut.
This homemade rice kanji is very simple to make and works well on digestive system by improving digestive enzymes.
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About this recipe
Kanji tastes very similar to curd rice and tastes similar to curd rice. But the main difference with Rice kanji and regular curd rice is the fermentation of cooked rice.
To make rice kanji , soak cooked rice overnight in a clay pot. After 12 hours of fermentation , you can eat 2-3 tablespoon of rice as first thing in the morning . Further adding homemade curds ,even increases the good bacteria's.
But I make this rice kanji similar to curd rice. Soak cooked rice over night in little water. Following day either mash in hand or blend fermented rice in a mixer . To this add home made curds and finally add tempering .
A delicious bowl of homemade , natural probiotics will be ready within 5 minutes. Without shelling out hundreds to thousands of money on store brought probiotics.
Indian traditional and ancestral knowledge on food science says lot about health . With varieties of spices , herbs and techniques used for cooking , has lot to deliever to maintain a good health.
As I am from Mysore , South India , my knowledge about food is more inclined towards with South Indian food. At home we traditionally follow few healthy food eating habits and practices from our ancestors to mainatian a healthy lifestyle. One such practice followed from years is eating Rice Kanji .
This rice kanji recipe was followed by my maternal grand mother. She always used to soak cooked rice in clay pots. And on the following day , she used to mash rice well with hands , add curds , onions and served this for breakfast .
Even today I prefer to eat only this if I feel discomfort on stomach. Also on any hot day , my lunch will be simple with a bowl of Rice Kanji , pickle and some stir fry veggies.
Recently , I had put one of my client on a colon cleanse diet . With advise to eat lots of probiotics, fiber rich and gluten free food .
So made this post on how to make Rice kanji at home , an inexpensive natural homemade probiotics.
What are Probiotics and why is it important ?
Probiotics are foods that contain healthy bacteria . These bacteria's are live microorganisms that helps in promoting a healthy digestive tract and a healthy immune system.
Many problems like indigestion , bloating , leaky guts and poor immune system is because of poor gut health. It occurs when the ratio of bad microorganisms overpowers the good microorganisms in the human body.
In the digestive tract , bad bacteria's are fed with refined carbohydrates . While the prebiotics, feed the good bacterias and thus help in balancing a good gut microflora.
This process makes vitamins and minerals much more bioavailable in the body. Hence adding probiotics to diet is very important. If interested, read more about probiotics here.
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Step by Step directions to make Rice Kanji
Soak ½ cup cooked rice in ½ cup water in a clay pot for about 10-12 hours or overnight.
Next day , transfer fermented rice to a blender , add salt to taste and blend to smooth paste.
Transfer blended rice into a mixing bowl.
Whisk ¼ cup of homemade curds and add to rice paste , stir well. Preferably add slightly sour curds as it tastes more good. Stir well and keep aside .
To temper
In a season pan / tadka pan , heat coconut oil . Add mustard seeds , jeera seeds , urad dal , chopped curry leaves , choppeds green chillies and fry well.
Add chopped onions and fry till it turns light brown .Turn off the stove
Now add in grated ginger , hing and mix well.
Pour temper over the prepared rice kanji.
Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves . Tempering is purely optional and it enances the taste .
Eat immedieately.
Recipe Card
Rice Kanji | Homemade Probiotics
Ingredients
- ½ cup cooked Rice
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup curds , homemade
- ¾ teaspoon salt or as required
- 1 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves , chopped
To Temper
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon jeera / cumin Seeds
- ½ teaspoon urad dal / split black gram
- 1 teaspoon curry leaves ,finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon green chilies , chopped
- 4 tablespoon onion ,finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger , grated
- ½ teaspoon Asafoetida / Hing
Instructions
- Soak ½ cup cooked rice in ½ cup water in a clay pot for about 10-12 hours or overnight.
- Next day , transfer fermented rice to a blender and blend to smooth paste.
- Transfer blended rice into a mixing bowl.
- Whisk ¼ cup of homemade curds and add to rice paste and stir well. Preferably add slightly sour curds as it tastes more good.
- Now add salt to taste and mix well.
To temper
- In a season pan / tadka pan , heat coconut oil , add mustard seeds ,jeera seeds , urad dal , chopped curry leaves , choppeds green chillies and fry well.
- Add chopped onions and fry till it turns light brown .Turn off the stove
- Now add in grated ginger , hing and mix well.
- Pour temper over the prepared rice kanji.
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.
Video
Notes
- Clay pot is used for fermentation , as science says it provides micro-oxygenation, including enzymatic reactions for producing unique flavors. If you don't have clay pot , you can use steel or glass vessel but clay pot is recommended.
- Fermented rice needs to be mashed well , you can either squeeze with clean hands or use fork or blend in a mixer.
- Use slightly sour curds , it adds more taste to rice kanji.
- Tempering with coconut oil adds lots of flavor and tastes really good.
- You can use any type of cooked rice , best way to use left out rice.
Devina Rohatgi
hi, i ve got 2 questions here 1) wont by adding salt we will be destroying the nutrients or probiotic bacteria.
2) is it that by adding tadka to the rice and curd mixture changes the properties of curd from cold to hold.
Muktha
Hi, Well for your 1 question , Adding pinch of rock salt will not destroy the nutrients. If adding , table salt in higher portion,then Yes it does. Infact high salt diets have been shown to reduce the numbers of Lactobacillus bacteria species , hence table salt is not added. Coming to your 2nd question , According to Ayurveda, ginger is heating to the body. Here it perfectly balances the coolness of the curds. As Ginger speed up emptying of the stomach, it can be beneficial here for people with indigestion or any related issues. Since this Rice Kanji recipe is a part of my Colon Cleanse Indian Diet , I prefer it this way making it more palatable. If using Rice Kanji everyday on empty stomach , 2 tbsp of of clay pot fermented rice with Tbsp of curds and pinch of rock salt would be sufficient. Hope this helps , Thank You.
Divya Sirohiya
Hi,
Could you please let us know which type of rice to use for this kanji ? Also, how to cook that rice ? Straining method or pressure cook them ?
Thanks
Muktha
Hi Divya , pressure cooking rice is better because in straining method nutrients will be lost. White rice : sona masoori , indrayani ,kolam any regular rice is fine . Thank you
Divya Sirohiya
Thank you for your reply Muktha ! Sorry one more question, Do you need to add salt will cooking the rice ?
Muktha
Welcome Divya , No never do that ,no salt while cooking rice
Muktha
Hey Divya , you are most welcome. No , never add salt while cooking rice . Especially in probiotics its BIG NO.
Divya
Thank you…I will be trying this recipe to give it to my kids..Can you make it big batch and store in the fridge ? Or do we make fresh batch everyday ?
Muktha
Hi Divya ,
Though refrigerating should be okay ,I wouldnt recommend. If giving for kids early in the morning as a probiotic food, then just 2 tbsp of overnight soaked rice should be fine.Tempering is also not required.
Divya
Thank you Mukta :)…sorry for so many questions..what kinda taste I should look for ? Will it be sour ?
Muktha
Welcome Divya 🙂 Its absolutely fine for any questions . Tastes very similar to curd rice , if soaking in clay pot you may get a hint of that typical earthen flavour ...., which I personally loved it. Orelse it is just like white rice mixed with curds ......, seasoning imparts flavour. For everyday use as a probiotic, just 2 tbsp of rice without any seasoning on empty stomach , should be absolutely fine
Utpal
Namaskarm,
Thankyou for the recipe. Isn’t coconut oil antibacterial ? Can it kill the probiotic bacteria ?
Muktha
Namaskara ,
Studies and researches says that virgin coconut oil rich in lauric acid have high antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria that modulate intestinal health when compared with low antimibrobial activities against commensal lactic acid bacteria ( good gut health bacterias) . Its said that its antimicrobial properties kills bacterias with lipid coatings ( bad bacteria) and is not effective on bacterias without lipid coatings (gut health bacterias doesnt have any lipid coatings). Thank you
Menaka B.
Do I have to eat this first thing in the morning in an empty stomach for maximum effectiveness? Or can I eat it for lunch/dinner?
Muktha
First thing in the morning on empty stomach , just 2 tbsp is sufficient. Just fermented rice with homemade curds is enough .No need to temper also .
Russ Wollman
I'm having some digestive disorders. I thought to make kanji, and I found your site, which is so very good.
I usually go every year to a tiny village in Kerala for ayurvedic panchakarma. But, well, you know what happened.
I miss India very much and all my friends there, from West Bengal to Kerala and in between.
All good wishes to you.
Muktha
Thank you for stopping by. That's great to hear that you often visit to Kerala for your Panchakarma. If you have boiled rice available as used in Kerala , you can make Rice Kanji recipe with that. In fact it's brilliant
Paras jadhav
Is salt imp for probiotics to form or can we avoid it?
If i used steel or glass container will it be okay?
Muktha
Hi , salt in not at all important, infact it's good if you can avoid it. Clay pot is highly recommended , if not go for glass containers
Leena
Hi,
Can we have this as breakfast?
Please confirm.
Thanks
Muktha
Yes Leena, we can have. It's great for your gut health
Madhu Sharma
Hi! From where to buy clay pot? Can we use clay pot available at Home depot for plants with no hole? Or shall I buy earthenware clay pot ?
Muktha
Hi , Earthenware clay pots can be used . Hope this helps, thank you
V.Sridhar
What is the amount of Bacteria Strains available in the fremented rice
Muktha
Sir ,sample is not Lab tested .
Sam
Thank you for the recipe. How do you make homemade curds ? Can you make them without milk?
Can you just ferment quinoa and it like your recipe?