Kanji vada is a fermented drink (kanji) with lentil fritters (vada), a special dish from Rajasthan/ Uttar Pradesh. Made with mustard as main ingredient in the kanji and moong dal for vada, this has a unique flavour.
This tangy, probiotic-rich drink is especially made for Holi and during winter months, which gives you a refreshing taste and also gut friendly.
Check out my Thandai recipe and Solkadhi recipe in this website.
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As you all could see I have slowly started posting new recipes and this one was in my to try list for long time. I see this recipe often when it is Holi and very tempting.
I thought it would be similar to maavadu or neer nellikai brine and been waiting to try. So decided to try this before this year’s Holi 2025 and picked up yellow mustard seeds from Mustafa on my way back home from work.
I have gone through many recipes and tested this one with mustard oil. Actually I never buy mustard oil as the flavour too strong for me, so avoid buying it. This time, wanted to add to jhal muri and try again. But still have not made. But saw a recipe adding mustard oil to Kanji, and thought of trying it.
If you are like me who doesn’t like mustard oil flavour, I would suggest to skip it in the recipe as it is too strong. Given we add mustard seeds too, I think you can simply skip it.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed for making Kanji vada.
For Kanji
- Mustard seeds – Rai – I used yellow mustard, but you can also use black variety.
- Black salt – Kala namak – Gives flavour for kanji
- Chilli powder – For spice, flavour, colour
- Cumin powder – Roasted & powdered, pairs up well with kala namak and gives “chaat” like flavour
- Mint leaves – For serving
Optional
- Turmeric powder – For colour
- Mustard oil – Use only if you like/ used to mustard oil flavour (use heated & cooled oil)
For vada
- Moong dal – I use split unpolished moong dal.
- Ginger – add lots of ginger, for taste, aids digestion.
- Green chilli – For spice
- Fennel seeds – Gives a subtle flavour
- Asafoetida – Adds unique aroma, helps with reducing gastric nature of dal
- Oil for deep frying
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Let’s see how to make Kanji vada with step-by-step images
- Take mustard, red chilli powder, cumin seeds powder, black salt, turmeric, asafoetida (if adding) all in a mixer firstly.
- Then powder it to a fine mixture.
- After that, add it to a glass or porcelain container. Pour 6 cups of water to it.
- Then mix it well. Use wooden ladle or any non reactive material.
- Cover the mouth of the container with a clean muslin/ cotton cloth. Tie or use a rubber band to secure. For 5 days, keep in sun, stirring every day without fail to prevent fungus formation.
- After 5 days it will be fermented and have a sour taste, smell. Kanji is ready.
Make vada
Soak moong dal for 3 hours minimum.
- Drain water and place it in a mixer. Add ginger, green chilli to it while grinding. I did not add extra water, just the water retained in the dal was enough.
- If you want you can use a little water, but it does not take much of water, so be very careful while adding water. Batter should be light, not like a paste. Grind smooth.
- After that, add asafoetida, coriander seeds, fennel seeds powder, asafoetida, hot oil, required salt and coriander leaves.
- Then mix it well, so that the batter is aerated well. It should not be very thick and tight.
- Then take a small portion with your fingers. Heat oil in a kadai.
- Add to hot oil carefully, few per batch. Try to add in different places to avoid clusters.
- Cook in medium or low heat, making sure it is cooked from inside. Keep stirring for even cooking. After a while, if you see any vada sticking together, you can gently separate with the ladle carefully.
- Once golden, drain from oil over a kitchen tissue.
- In warm water, add salt and the fried vadas. squeeze it in water so that it is softened. Do not break the vadas, be very gentle like it is a sponge.
- This step ensures the kanji well absorbed in the vada.
- After that, add it to the fermented Kanji and let it sit for 30 minutes minimum.
- Finally serve the vadas with lots of kanji and garnish with mint leaves.
You can also sprinkle a little red chilli powder, chaat masala if you like. Enjoy kanji vada!
Substitutions & Variations
- Turmeric, Asafoetida, Mustard oil are all optional. You can skip mustard oil if you do not like that strong flavour.
- For making vada, you can use a mix of both urad dal and moong dal. This gives more softer vada.
Equipment
Do not use metal containers for making the fermented kanji or storing it. It is better to use glass or porcelain jar. Here’s an affiliate link to glass jar with clip.
Storage
Kanji can be stored in the fridge after fermentation for maximum 10 days.
Top Tip
If you feel the mustard flavour is too sharp, you can use more water and balance it with some rock salt.
In case you decide to use black mustard seeds, use just 1 tablespoon for the recipe as it is more stronger.
While making vada, make sure to add less water. While I drain and add to the mixer, the water retained was enough to make the batter.
Also make sure the batter is not too thick/ heavy like a paste. Otherwise it may burst in the oil while frying. To check if the batter is light, place a spoon of batter in water in bowl and the batter should float.
You can beat the batter well with hands if it is too thick to aerate it. Or use a electric hand blender to whip the batter to aerate.
FAQ
At room temperature, 2 days after adding vada. 7-10 days in fridge.
Yes, use just 1 tablespoon for 6 cups water.
Kala namak or black salt adds a lot of flavour to kanji and highly recommend using it.
Recipe card
Kanji Vada Recipe
Kanji vada is a fermented drink (kanji) with lentil fritters (vada), a special dish from Rajasthan/ Uttar Pradesh.
Equipments (Amazon Affiliate links)
Cup measurements
Ingredients
For Kanji
- 2-3 tbsp Mustard seeds Yellow
- 2 teaspoon Black salt
- 1 teaspoon Chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Roasted cumin seeds powder
- ½ tsp Asafoetida Optional
- 6 cups Water
- Salt as needed
For Vada
- 1 cup Moong dal
- 1 piece Ginger
- 2 Green chillies
- 1 teaspoon Coriander seeds crushed
- ½ teaspoon Fennel seeds powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Asafoetida
- 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp Hot oil
- Salt
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Instructions
-
Take mustard, red chilli powder, cumin seeds powder, black salt, turmeric, asafoetida (if adding) all in a mixer firstly.
-
Then powder it to a fine mixture.
-
After that, add it to a glass or porcelain container. Pour 6 cups of water to it.
-
Then mix it well. Use wooden ladle or any non reactive material.
-
Cover the mouth of the container with a clean muslin/ cotton cloth. Tie or use a rubber band to secure. For 5 days, keep in sun, stirring every day without fail to prevent fungus formation.
-
After 5 days it will be fermented and have a sour taste, smell. Kanji is ready.
Make vada
-
Soak moong dal for 3 hours minimum.
-
Drain water and place it in a mixer. Add ginger, green chilli to it while grinding. I did not add extra water, just the water retained in the dal was enough.
-
If you want you can use a little water, but it does not take much of water, so be very careful while adding water. Batter should be light, not like a paste. Grind smooth.
-
After that, add asafoetida, coriander seeds, fennel seeds powder, asafoetida, hot oil, required salt and coriander leaves.
-
Then mix it well, so that the batter is aerated well. It should not be very thick and tight.
-
Then take a small portion with your fingers. Heat oil in a kadai.
-
Add to hot oil carefully, few per batch. Try to add in different places to avoid clusters.
-
Cook in medium or low heat, making sure it is cooked from inside. Keep stirring for even cooking. After a while, if you see any vada sticking together, you can gently separate with the ladle carefully.
-
Once golden, drain from oil over a kitchen tissue.
-
In warm water, add salt and the fried vadas. squeeze it in water so that it is softened. Do not break the vadas, be very gentle like it is a sponge.
-
This step ensures the kanji well absorbed in the vada.
-
After that, add it to the fermented Kanji and let it sit for 30 minutes minimum.
-
Finally serve the vadas with lots of kanji and garnish with mint leaves.
Video
Notes
- Turmeric, Asafoetida, Mustard oil are all optional. You can skip mustard oil if you do not like that strong flavour. I found it too strong, so skipped it in the ingredients list. If you are adding just add 1 teaspoon of heated and cooled oil.
- Adding kala namak and roasted cumin seeds powder along with asafoetida helps the flavour enhance.