Nombu Kanji: The Flavour of Ramzan in Southern India

With the onset of Ramzan, Muslim devotees fast for long hours before consuming any food to showcase their devotion to Allah. However, with its difficulty, Ramzan also brings the promise of delectable dishes that taste like the most sumptuous delicacies after twelve hours of abstinence from food and drink. Nombu Kanji is one such dish.

Nombu Kanji | Source: NPR

Southern India is famous for its vast cultural heritage. From its plethora of dance forms to its melodious instruments, from silk sarees to heavy gold jewellery, it has a mini-culture of its own interwoven within the larger cultural context of India. And this cultural richness has imbued itself into all other traditions that exist around it—including Islam. One such example is found in Tamil history, which is famous for its one-pot meals. The first mention of a one-pot meal or a perun soru is in a Sangam literature text from 200 BCE that refers to one big meal of meat and rice. Nombu Kanji, a delicacy associated with Ramzan, is a perun soru as well. Nombu Kanji is not only mentioned in ancient literature but has also been talked about by present-day historians. S. Anwar, a historian and filmmaker, pointed out that Nombu Kanji could have originated from the millet porridge which is distributed among devotees during the Aadi festival for the Amman, the goddess of rain. The millets were replaced with rice by Tamil Muslims, who also added meat to the porridge. This non-vegetarian porridge was called 'Koozh'and was made even before the advent of Islam and is still served in Amman temples as prasadam.

In Malayalam, Ramzan is referred to as 'nomb asam', or the month of fasting. Thus, the name 'Nombu Kanji' refers to a rice and lentil-based gruel that is consumed during this month. It is easy to digest and keeps the stomach light. Its creamy consistency soothes the parched throats of devotees who spend hours upon hours without water. Its iterations are found all across the world—from China and Korea to Japan and Bhutan. A variation of the dish, the rice porridge, arose in Asia more than 1000 years ago.

While others around the world may consume this porridge during sickness and consider it bland, most Muslim communities in Tamil Nadu consider Nombu Kanji a delicious part of iftar. It is made in large quantities in local mosques, to be distributed to each member who attends the evening congregation of prayers. It incorporates the tenets of balanced nutrition as preached by various medical sciences. It supplies carbohydrates to the nutrition-deprived body through rice, while the lentils and meat provide protein. It also contains cumin, which helps the cramping stomach to easily digest the food, and fenugreek, which prevents ulcers in the body. The two staples of Indian food—ginger for reducing acidity and garlic for easing the stomach—are also part of this unique porridge.

Pot full of Steaming Nombu Kanji | Source: Google

The food of any particular region signifies some unique characteristics of the place and its people. The Muslims in Tamil Nadu are divided into three major communities—Labbai or Tamil Muslims, Arcot or Urdu Muslims, and Dakhini Muslims. For each of these communities, Nombu Kanji is an important delicacy that reflects their distinctive palettes. Thus, the recipe has slight variations from region to region. For the Dakhinis, the porridge showcases frugality, one of the quintessential pillars of Islam, and is made with little mutton and lots of vegetables, along with ingredients like coconut. This also showcases their economic status as they traditionally belonged to the middle class who worked for the most affluent sections of society. The Kayalpattinam Kanji uses chicken and is cooked in coconut milk. In Chennai, the amount of ginger-garlic paste increases to battle the humid climatic conditions of the coastal town. In Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, and Trichy, the dish is made with lesser masalas.

The base for the Nombu Kanji is its masala or akhni, as it is called by the Arcot community. This blend of spices is used to add flavour to other dishes as well. Once the akhni is prepared, rice flour is boiled and then made into a dough, which can then be made into star-, moon-, or diamond-shaped dumplings. These dumplings are then soaked in a semi-gravy mutton or chicken masala and then given the dum treatment, where they are cooked on a low flame over a long period of time.

Nombu Kanji is generally served with a drink, a snack, and a sweet dish, which completes the iftar meal. The accompaniments of the dish are of prime importance as they accentuate the flavour of the dish. The Kayiru Katti Kola is one such snack, the origin of which dates back to the Maratha kings of Thanjavur. In this delicate dish, meatballs made of dry roasted ingredients like desiccated coconut, poppy seeds, dried chickpeas, and a mix of whole spices are tied together with a string.

Kaiyiru

Traditionally, iftar is commenced with dates and water. However, since dates are not produced locally and are thus not available to people from all walks of life, people generally start their meals with the porridge.

Food is so much more than its ingredients or its flavour. It is symbolic of one of the most basic needs as well as a source of unbridled happiness for people. The month of Ramzan is about emphasising the spirit of giving and sharing and practising charity in one’s life. Nombu Kanji is one of the many ways in which help is offered to the needy as it provides nourishment to all individuals. The mosques in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala routinely distribute Kanji, with lightly spiced rice and lentil porridge, before the sunset prayers are offered.

The Triplicane Big Mosque is one such mosque which prepares 1200 bowls of the dish each day to serve throughout the month of Ramzan. The sunshine yellow concoction is made on a wood-fired stove within the mosque’s premises. In mammoth cauldrons, spices and vegetables are sauteed in oil after which the spices are added, rice and dal are poured, and with these flavours, a dash of chicken masala is also added. The mosque adds mutton to the dish on four days of the month. The dish remains in dum for hours, until it is time for evening prayers. Since the mosque’s inauguration nearly 200 years ago, the recipe for the dish has remained the same as people turn up in throngs for the feast or send others to fetch Kanji for them in tiffin boxes.

Triplicane Big Mosque | Source: Travell.In

Nombu Kanji is a creation that came from a history of necessity, devotion, and the virtue of caring. It exists with slight changes across parts of the country but remains true in its roots of nutrition and health. Perhaps it is true when people say that food is an emotion as elderly devotees get reminded of the flavour of their childhood with just one spoonful of the satisfying gruel. The strong cultural essence that is associated with the flavour of this dish is something that sets it apart from the other meals.