Kanji is the tradition for lunch on Good Friday in Kerala. And it is served in the church at the end of the Good Friday service. The service starts in the morning at about 8:00 am and lasts till 2:00 pm; by the end of it people are famished.

This simple rice gruel is one of the highlights of Good Friday and eating steaming kanji together with friends and family in the hot afternoon remains a fond memory. The kanji itself may be plain, but the side dishes are spicy and tangy – vanpayar thoran (red cowpea beans cooked with grated coconut), pappadam, mango pickle and/or red coconut chutney – simple vegetarian fare.

Amidst the lockdown, we missed church, but that’s no excuse for not having kanji for lunch at home. And so we did😋.

The highlight of the lunch was the red coconut chutney. It’s simple to make and incredibly tasty. It ties the whole meal together. The burst of orange for the chutney comes from the red chillies🌶.

Red coconut chutney

• 4 dried red chillies soaked in water for an hour
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 1 shallot
• Ginger (half inch)
• Tamarind (size of a pea)
• Salt to taste

[1] Grind the shallot, ginger and red chilies to a fine paste first.

[2] Add the coconut, tamarind and salt, sprinkle some water into the mixture and grind the whole mixture coarsely. You don’t want to add too much water and make it runny; it’s a coarse mixture.

The red coconut chutney is a treat with rice too🍚.

Till next post, take care !!