RAMADAN NOMBU KANJI RECIPE | RAMZAN VEG NOMBU KANJI | IFTAR RECIPES

Ramadan nombu kanji recipe in my blog may be surprising to some of you. Being a passionate food blogger, I love to try all unique recipes from all cuisines. This is one such recipe which I was longing to try. As I had tasted this porridge in my childhood days from my Muslim friends, I wanted to try the same on my own.

As Ramadan month has started all our Muslim friends would be under fasting from Dawn to dusk. Generally muslims in Tamilnadu and Kerala break their fasting with this “Nombu kanji/Gruel “ which they get from masgid/Mosque. Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection, improvement and increased devotion and worship. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities & its purpose being to cleanse the soul by freeing it from harmful impurities. Food and drink is served daily, before sunrise and after sunset. Pre-fast meal is called Suhoor and Fast-breaking meal after sunset is known as Iftar.

For breaking the fast, they begin with dates, continue with salad & main course followed by desserts. Usually this Nombu kanji is served along with vada, bonda or samosa( some deep fried snacks). Source:Wikipedia & allaboutislam

I must thank my friend Halima for sharing this recipe and their customary practices. She told this porridge is the most important Iftar recipe for them & they get this porridge from the mosque everyday to break their fasting. She told it would be much tastier than the ones prepared at home. As Iam a pure vegetarian, she shared her vegetarian version happily and also encouraged me to post in my blog. Its a very easy one pot meal which is very good for our health too.

With the smell of masalas and the flavour of coconut milk, this porridge was awesome. I loved it a lot & I would say this is the best porridge recipe I have ever tasted. U can adjust the consistency based on your wish. Ok , Lets see how to make this tasty, easy Muslim special nombu kanji at home. Before that, I would like to wish all my Muslim friends a very happy Ramadan.

Muslim Ramadan Nombu Kanji recipe

Muslim Nombu Kanji recipe Ramadan nombu kanji recipe for Iftar

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Breakfast

Serves: 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup = 200ml

To pressure cook

Raw rice – 1/4 cup
Moong dal – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp
Water – 3-4 cups
Carrot – 1no (small)
Beans – 3-5 nos
Peas – 2 tbsp
Grated Cabbage – 2 tbsp
Tomato – 1no ( small sized)
Green chilli – 1no (slit)
Salt – as needed
Curry masala powder/Biryani masala powder – 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp(chopped)
Mint leaves – 1 tbsp

To saute

Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
Big onion – 1 no
Cinnamon – 1 small piece
Cloves – 1no
Cardamom – 1 no
Bayleaf – 1 small
Ginger,garlic paste – 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp

Thick coconut milk – 1 cup

HOW TO MAKE RAMADAN NOMBU KANJI – METHOD

Wash the rice and dal. Chop all the vegetables finely. Grate one cup of coconut and extract 1 cup of milk from it. Set aside.(if using coconut milk powder, mix 2-3 tbsp of powder in one cup of water to make a thick coconut milk).
Take all the ingredients mentioned under “to pressure cook” in a cooker base. Add salt, turmeric powder, masala powder coriander leaves, Mint leaves(if using) and required water. For this quantity, you have to add nearly 4 cups of water to make a thin porridge. Pressure cook in low flame till one whistle. Make sure rice and dal should be well mashed.
After the steam is released, open the cooker and mash the rice n dal along with vegetables very well using a whisk/Mathu or beater. Rice should not be visible.

Now in a kadai, heat oil and saute cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bayleaf, cumin seeds, finely chopped onions, g&g paste. Saute till raw smell goes off.
Add this to the cooked porridge. Add one cup of coconut milk to the porridge and allow it to boil well for 5 minutes in low flame. Add more water if necessary to adjust consistency.

Switch off the flame and transfer to a serving bowl. Enjoy with vada, bonda, bajji or samosa!

Note

Generally Muslims cook the rice and dal separately and vegetables with meat or chicken separately. Mash well and mix them together. If you want to add mutton or broiler pieces, follow this procedure.
The thing is all the ingredients should be mashed very well.
U can add finely chopped mint leaves along with coriander leaves. But I din’t add here.
Adding turmeric powder is optional here. But I used it as per my friend’s recipe.
U can make this porrdige thick or thin. My friend told usually this porrdige would be in drinkable consistency and they drink in “Vattal/curved bowl” .
If you browse through, you can find many variations for this particular recipe on Google. But Iam sure everything tastes great in its own way.
I used readymade coconut milk powder for making thick coconut milk. Even then the taste was good.

Enjoy this Muslim special Nombu kanji with paruppu vadai /Bonda / Bajji or samosa. It tastes heavenly !