Oats Conji

I was sitting with a colleague at work who was eating a rice based dish. I asked her what it was and she said, "We call it Con-ji in Chinese". I was quite surprised - that was the first time I learnt that Conji (or Kanji as we say it at home) is actually a staple food throughout Asia - not just South India (which is what I had always thought!).

Tradionally, I believe Conji to be a breakfast dish. My dad was served it on a Thai Airways flight once and he was quite surprised too. I guess a rice based porridge or soup is what you would tradionally call a Conji.

Since my first knowledge of this, I have heard it mentioned many times. It is one of those things that you are not aware of and suddenly as soon as you do become aware of it, there are references to it everywhere!

The following recipe is not one for tradional Conji - I tend to associate that with something to eat only when you are extremely ill! This recipe is more like a porridge. My mum used to make a whole 2L of this stuff in the morning for all of us when we were growing up. It is a healthy and filling breakfast drink. It is better for you than coffee and has less sugar than Milo or Juice. It has long been a staple at my parent's house.

I like to call it my very own "Protein Drink"!

Ingredients:

3 cups Oats
5-10 almonds
5 cashews
4-5 Elaichi (Cardamom) - alternatively, you can use 1/2 teaspoon of powdered cardamom)
1 tablespoon split peas (Odacha kadalai)
1 tablespoon barley (optional)

Dry roast all of the above and make into a fine powder.

For one cup of Kanji:

Dissolve 1 heaped tspoon of the powder in 2/3 of a cup of cold water.
Bring to boil on medium heat. Make sure to stir constantly!
Add 1/3 cup milk and little sugar to taste.

I make this every morning - I find the whole stirring process relaxing in the mornings. It makes me pause for about 5 minutes in an otherwise very hectic morning!

"Whether you call it Conji or Kanji,
it is surely beter than tea or coffee -
after a few moments to pause and think,
you will have made yourself a protein drink!"