Vadan Samba is an unpretentious Tamil Nadu red rice variety with a modest health profile but some fairly old antecedents–it appears to have been named among 100-odd sen-nel or unique rice varieties in the Pazhani Cheppu Pattayam (Pazhani Copper Inscriptions) from 1528, published by the Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department in 1995 [Indian Express, Madurai edition: 30th April, 1995 and The Hindu, Coimbatore edition: 16th July, 1995], lines 133-151. This inscription apparently tells of a meeting of Chera, the Chola, and Pandiya representatives discussing cultivation techniques, water management, harvesting methods, and the construction of a common place for free food supply (CIKS 2019). While it is a little difficult to ascertain whether the rice named there as “வாலன்” [vaalan] became the rice variety we know today as வாலான் [vaalaan], or the present வாடன் [vaadan] — what we do know is that this rice is an easy drought and disease resistant, which is why it is called vaadan, the dried rice, capable of surviving poor-to-no irrigation.
This rice is supposed to be soothing and even sleep-inducing (possibly owing to the ready starch the rice releases in cooking, producing a soft but distinct gel) makes it perfect for a light kanji. Made right, it becomes a delicately flavored, easy-on-the-body, warm, nourishing rice drink. A little like parutthi paal, but made with rice cooking stock instead of cottonseed milk, plus some rice for that additional starch energy boost. Thick enough to satiate, thin enough to drink. Checks all boxes, farmer to consumer, and hits a sweet-enough spot, dare I say!
Notes on the kanji
Kanji or “congee” refers to the boiling of rice, usually in water; it’s roughly understood as a rice porridge or a gruel. The Chinese will claim it of course, and act surprised that “kanji” is an old Tamil word, and that’s it’s often treated as a medicinal preparation or at the very least a nourishing, strength-building one. For our part, we’ve tended to ignore just how many kanji variations our various rice-eating states boast–from Kerala’s dashapushpam-based Karkidaka kanji to the Gujarati thicker ghesh and thinner pejiyu [also called dagchu or bhadku] and Bangla and Odia jau bhaat.
Now most traditional kanjis are savory preparations, in India and elsewhere. Add sweeteners and milks, and they tend towards rice puddings instead: payasams and kheers. This vadan samba kanji falls somewhere between–it uses salt, dry ginger/chukku, and peppers (black pepper: milagu, long black pepper: thippili, and round black pepper: gundu thippili), but also karupatti/ panavellam/ toddy palm jaggery and coconut milk. Chukku, milagu, thippili: this trio is known as thiri-kadugam, the three medicines; palm jaggery has known curative value for coughs and colds. Take it all together and the the point here is to join with vadan samba’s own energy-immunity-boosting character and pack a punch. The sweetening is in its way mild, and incidental.
The real secret to this recipe, however, is chitharathai/ சிற்றரத்தை /Alpinia officinarum/ “lesser galangal,” which somehow magically combines the fragrance of piney-eucalyptus with the sweetness of cinnamon, and is the spice that gives paruthi paal (cottonseed milk) its characteristic taste. I have it growing happily in a pot, rhizomes brought over from once-upon-a-time in Bali and safely guarded ever since. See the image below. My current dried stash comes, however, from the local naatu vaidyar kadai [country doctor shop]. Just a little added to this kanji pulls the sweetness of the rice right out and ties it to karupatti and the coconut milk.
Kanjis need rices that cook up well enough to spill their starches. Raw, unpolished vadan samba doesn’t fall apart the way black rices tend to or some other “white” rices would–it just does not have the same amylopectin content. Nonetheless, it spills enough starch into its cooking water to make a kanji work. A little rice gets mashed in, the rest gets saved for your next meal.
That’s option 1, and you have a fresh kanji alongside a table rice. Option 2 is to ferment the rice overnight, so that it becomes “pazhaiya sadam” or “old rice” and use that as the base for the kanji–pazhamkanji.
In the video clip below you can see the gelatinous form that the kanji takes, when left to rest overnight. Although kanjis are not typically fermented, there’s nothing wrong with leaving vadan samba, cooked in an ample amount of water, out for a night–then the next day, use that gelatinous layer plus as ladle or two of the rice itself for this kanji preparation.
Note: It’s important that cooked rice must be covered with water if it’s to be left to ferment overnight, otherwise it may just spoil. If you don’t have enough cooking water to cover already, then add more. Note also that the rice in the video above is already cooked into a porridge, so it can’t be used as a table rice after the water is drained out, but can still be had with fried yams, greens, and a bit of pickle on the side. Mixing buttermilk in is also an option. Pazhaiya sadam [“old rice”], after all!
Sweet-spiced vadan samba kanji
Ingredients
For the Kanji
- 1 cup raw unpolished vadan samba rice
- ½ cup karupatti or palm jaggery plus more to taste
- ½ coconut, grated and milk extracted with 2-3 cups of water
Spices
- 3-4 cardamom pods
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper/ milagu
- ¼ teaspoon long pepper/ thippili
- ¼ teaspoon round pepper/ urundai thippili or gundu thippili
- A small piece of dry ginger/sukku or ½ teaspoon dry ginger powder
- A small piece of dried lesser galangal/ sitarathai or about ¼ teaspoon sitharathai powder
- ½ teaspoon rock salt
- 2-3 karpooravalli or other soft ripe banana, optional
Instructions
- Soak the vadan samba for 2 hours, drain the soaking water. Now bring 7 cups of water to boil in a heavy-bottomed vessel. Once the water is simmering, add the rice and bring to a boil. Lower the heat. Cover partially, not fully, or the rice will boil over. The rice should be well cooked in about an hour.
- Now you can either leave this rice in its cooking water overnight to sour slightly, or you can drain out the cooking water and use that as the base for the kanji. If you’re leaving it out to sour, make sure the rice is well covered in water. Add more if needed.
- For fresh kanji: drain the rice and save the starchy cooking water—this is kanji.
- For rice left overnight: skim the gelatinous layer that will likely have formed on top and reserve. Now drain the rice and add that to the skimmed gelatinous layer.
- Fermented or not, take a few tablespoons of the rice, mash it well (or use a blender) and add that back into the kanji. You’ll want about 4-5 cups of mashed rice plus cooking water at this stage, so adjust accordingly.
- Place the kanji in a saucepan over a gentle simmer. Add in the karupatti/ panavellam, and allow this to dissolve. Check the texture – if too thin, you can add more mashed rice. If too thick, add a little water. Keep in mind that coconut milk thins the whole kanji later, so you want it thickish, not too watery at this stage. Heat through and turn off the flame.
- Separately, grind the spices. Sitharathai and sukku can be tough to hand pound, so it’s best to use a spice or coffee grinder. Pulverize all the spices together, and then use a strainer or sieve to remove the fibrous parts. Add the spice powder to the kanji, along with salt.
- Taste, and adjust sweetness if you wish. The spice tastes should be strong, but not overpowering. They’ll get further mellowed with the addition of coconut milk.
- You can store the kanji in this form for a few days, refrigerated. You’ll need to thin it slightly and warm before serving.
To serve
- Kanji should be warm; coconut milk can be room temperature or cool (but preferably not cold).
- If using the banana, add the mashed fruit in now, or chop it into fine chunks and add that in.
- Pour the kanji into glasses until about ¾ full. Top with coconut milk and dust with any remaining spice powder from the sieving step earlier—there will always be a little left, enough to garnish.
- Serve right away. The kanji should be warm and soothing, a little warmer than room temperature is ideal, but not piping hot and certainly not cold.
Sources
- CIKS, Traditional Rice Varieties of Tamil Nadu: A Sourcebook. Chennai, 2019
- A Sathya. 2014 “The Art of Naming Traditional Rice Varieties and Landraces by Ancient Tamils.” Asian Agri-History 18/1: 5-21.
