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Ramadan Nombu Kanji Recipe, Ganji Recipe. An easy and tasty porridge made with rice, keema and lentils. A must have during the iftaar time.
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Ramadan has already started. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar and all able Muslims are supposed to fast from dawn to dusk.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, the smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. (Allah says about the fasting person), ‘He has left his food, drink and desires for My sake. The fast is for Me. So I will reward (the fasting person) for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times.”
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 1894
In-book reference : Book 30, Hadith 4
USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 3, Book 31, Hadith 118
(deprecated numbering scheme)
May ALLAH accept all our duas and ibadah in this Holy Month and give us hidayah to utilise it to the maximum.
And keeping the meals simple is always a good idea during Ramadan and one of the easy and simple dish is the Ramadan Nombu Kanji recipe or the Ganji recipe as is called in my home.
This was a must in my home. TheRamadan Nombu Kanji recipe is pretty much famous in Chennai. You can see it being distributed in many mosques that serve the iftaar.
Light, healthy, nutritious. Just the perfect dish to open your fast with. TheRamadan Nombu Kanji recipe is like a rice porridge with spices.
You can make theRamadan Nombu Kanji recipe just as plain ganji or with veggies or with non – veg. It is totally your choice how you would like to relish it.
In my home, theRamadan Nombu Kanji recipe is made with the mutton keema more often than other varieties. You can even make the mutton keema recipe and freeze out portions of it.
So the next time when you are going to make theRamadan Nombu Kanji recipe, you can just pop one portion of the mutton keema into the rice and dal and leave it to cook.
Never use a pressure cooker to make thisRamadan Nombu Kanji recipe. It just won’t taste the same. It will be more soggy and taste different than when you slow cook it.
My Ammi used to start cooking thisRamadan Nombu Kanji recipe long before the time for iftaar.
She would keep it on the stove on really low heat and slow cook it. She used to make it with the whole rice and dal. And then mash it with wooden masher after it is cooked.
I, however, prefer to make the dal and rice into a coarse powder while makes it get cooked faster.
It was a must have all during the Ramadan iftaar. Our iftaar just wasn’t complete without it. The Ganji served with Masala Vada or medu Vada or any type of pakoras. I would even eat it with some plain paapad.
To think of iftaar without theRamadan Nombu Kanji recipe is just unimaginable for me. It was a very integral part of Ramadan and iftaar time.
But after getting married my hubby dearest wasn’t so fond of it and I just can’t do without it.So I just used to make it and refrigerate it for couple of days and open my fasts with it. No matter what I make, without the ganji, the iftaar looked so incomplete.
Now that the kids have grown up, they have got accustomed to theRamadan Nombu Kanji recipe and enjoy it too. It is really light on the stomach after breaking the fast. And I happily oblige and relish the Ganji recipe with them.
This recipe is more like a tradition apart from being healthy. It is really light. After a long day’s fast, you will be in no mood to eat any kind of heavy or greasy stuff. This is just like a perfect dish. And pretty simple too.
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Ramadan Nombu Kanji Recipe, Ganji Recipe
Fa's Kitchen
5 from 2 votes
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Ingredients
- 1 cup rice (any kind of rice will do, but I prefer using the basmati for it's nice fragrant aroma)
- 1/4 cup moong dal or masoor dal
- 2 tbsp oil or ghee
- 2 onions finely sliced
- 1/4 kg mutton keema
- 3 - 4 green chili slit in the middle
- 2 cloves
- 2 cardamom
- 1 inch stick cinnamon
- 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 to matoes finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- salt to taste
Instructions
Lightly dry roast the rice and dal till a nice fragrance emanates from it. Allow the rice and dal to cool and make it into a coarse powder either in a coffee grinder or in a mixer. Just pulse for a few seconds. And set this powder aside.
Heat oil or ghee in a large pot.
Add the onions, green chili, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and fry till the onion is golden brown in color.
Mix in the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.
Add in the mutton keema and fry till all the water has dried up from the mutton mince.
Next add in the tomatoes and cook till soft and pulpy.
Stir in the turmeric powder and the rice - dal powder. Stir it thoroughly, else the rice will turn into lumps. Add in 12 cups of water and stir frequently. Add salt.
Cook on low heat while stirring in between till the rice is done. Adjust the consistency of the ganji by adding or reducing water. The consistency should be like that of a thick soup or porridge. If it is too thick or too thin, it won't taste good.
Finally add in the mint leaves and desiccated coconut. Allow it to come to a boil. Switch off the flame. Serve lukewarm.
Signing off until next time,
Fareeha.
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For more such easy recipes try out the following
Chicken Pakora recipe, How to make chicken pakoda
Meat Keema Samosa recipe, Lamb Samosa recipe
Chicken Puffs recipe, Chicken Puff Pastry Indian Style
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