Cereal : Kanji (a thought analysis!)

joshila · Aug 13, 2009

My cousin was chatting the other day when she said "ippo ellam mornings cereal, athu dhan fashion inga " (eating cereal in the mornings are a fashion stamtement here!). I was truly surprised, has Madras changed so much in the last 3-4 yrs, since my last visit ? What happened to those idli, vadai, pongal, sambhar?? If not those, atleast "the kanji"(porridge)??? Wiki for people who are not familiar - Its a Porridge made using 4-5 whole grains, lentils, nuts roasted and powdered. Then 1-2tbsp is added to hot milk/water, stirred and then consumed.Even buttermilk, salt version can be done.
I remember days when I used to thrive just by drinking a big glass in the mornings.That was so sustaining.I used to come back at 2pm from school & then have my lunch.Even after going to college I used to take kanji in a bottle & have as my lunch daily. It was a healthy and a nutritious choice( thats what my mom said!), but back then for me I took because it gave me more time to do other things.:crazy I always used to say then " Why waste time in eating, lets go there for earrings sale, anga chappal sale, bag sale, this & that.So I wanted to make use of that 45mins break for other things than eat lunch.:thumbsup
Now after so many years, when I look back I understand how good that kanji was. Not that am a nurtitioniist but being a weight watcher and a meal planner for the house,I want the best for the family.
When I first moved to the US, everyone I saw always said- "take cereal in the morning, cook for a week ahead, go in for frozen stuff".So I too started with that as it made my job damn easy.The only difficult part here was selecting a cereal box ....which one ? how big ?where to get ? Phew!!! :bang

Then, finally, one day I started to do little research to choose which is the best. After some serious "theydal"(search). I again was stuck to square one, my favourite "kanji". It had everything- carbhos, protein, fat, vitamins & minerals.In fact I felt it was a better source of Calcium than anything else. Then why not that for kids.
The few things which made me feel that kanji is a better choice than cereal are its healthier, nutritious , economical and easy to prepare than most breakfast items.
I also found that when I consumed cereal, I always felt hungrier in less than 2-3hrs time whereas Kanji made me feel better off for atleast till the lunch time !!
Eventhough Kanji may have its own benefits, I think only a handful of us maybe consuming it. WHY?
I think It comes down to marketing & advertising the product. The West have always been a King in this aspect. If not, how come pizzas are more popular than dosas?, cappucinos over filter coffees? french fries over bhajji,pakora ? Now recent addition to this list is cereal.
After this chat about cereal with my cousin, I started to watch the Indian commercials more keenly.Yep,I think between every serial therez a cereal ad.
I think a day would come like how the West said yoga is a good form of exercise, turmeric is an extraordinary antiseptic, thoppukaranam is a superbrain yoga!!!
Lets wait till then for them to say Kanji is a super food!! :cheers

SupriyaDinesh · Aug 13, 2009

Hi joshila,
Cereal is not nutritious according to me.Just read the labels.Every cereal has high fructose corn syrup.I have stopped eating long back.Now coming to kanji, i have not eaten that.We used to have idli,sambar,puri,chapathi,dosa or pongal for breakfast.
But after coming here,i feel bored to cook for myself alone.My son eats bread/jam/butter every morning.There are few without HFCS added.I am trying hard to make him eat indian breakfast in the morning.Omelette is also a nutritious addition.

ssusha123 · Aug 13, 2009

hi joshila,
no doubt kanji is a healthy drink. when my daughter was born, when she was 8-9 months old baby, i started giving her this navadhanya kanji. to improve the taste, i add kaju, badam, elaichi, laving etc. and the rest of the cereals were roasted and made a fine powder. no doubt, badam plays a major role in memory power. she is so brilliant at her studies, everything because i gave her kanji in her formative years.

so i would say that kanji is the best morning drink for children, adults & aged people.

knot2share · Aug 14, 2009

So any idea what the actual ingredients are for kanji ?? And mix with milk or water??

joshila · Aug 17, 2009

SupriyaDinesh;bt24393 said:

Hi joshila,
Cereal is not nutritious according to me.Just read the labels.Every cereal has high fructose corn syrup.I have stopped eating long back.Now coming to kanji, i have not eaten that.We used to have idli,sambar,puri,chapathi,dosa or pongal for breakfast.
But after coming here,i feel bored to cook for myself alone.My son eats bread/jam/butter every morning.There are few without HFCS added.I am trying hard to make him eat indian breakfast in the morning.Omelette is also a nutritious addition.
Click to expand...

Yep Supriya ....true almost all cereals do contain high fructose syrup...but I remember there used to be only one on honey bunches minus that though was rare to find in stores. If I'm right I think it was a blue white box(almond one I think), which was like ok . But whatever its always better to eat freshly cooked food, as it reduces a lot of risks...

joshila · Aug 17, 2009

yes true ssusha..no doubts about the health benefits of kanji...

knotshare, kanji is also called sathumavu, the recipe actually differs from homt to home. But u can check the basic recipe in the below site & make ur versions too. En Samayal Arai: Sathu maavu / Nutritious powder

vijianand · Aug 17, 2009

Wow Joshila,

That's a real good write up on Kanji , if I may say so!!!!
I make Kanji at my home. Initially with my son it was abig no. Once he tasted it he has developed a liking. Idli , dosais still rule , though.
Cereals ..there are so many and when choosing we need to really be watchful of the sugar they contain. Sicne we just pop them onto a bowl from the box, add some milk andeat , it sure is an easy way out.
This really brought back memories of godumai kanji, payatham kanji, sath umaavu kanji..... mom used to make.
Regards,
Viji

AkilaMani · Aug 17, 2009

Hi Joshila,

congrats on ur first blog entry.... nice writeup... enjoyed it. It sure brought back memories of my childhood when mom used to prepare sathumavvu kanji as an evening drink before we went out to play. My kids like indian breakfast and they love ragi kuzhu once in two weeks. But since my elder daughter likes cereals for her breakfast on school days, I get her the ones that are multigrained with no sugar added and high fiber variety.

joshila · Aug 17, 2009

thanks vijianand...true I think once u get the taste of kanji we love after that..but with kids I think it might take sometime even my daughter is like that ...takes with litle long face ..

thanks akila mani ...true even I remember when my mom used to make sathumavu urundai , the day she makes ghee it was yummy yummy !!!

bars62 · Aug 17, 2009

hi

you are absolutly right. kanji anyday is better than cereal health wise and economical too. i used to do that long before and somewhere without my knowldge it got discontinued. thanks for reminding. our eating style is changing and breakfast items which we used to consume earlier has become dinner now a days . eating rice twice (a typical south indian style) is dis appearing due to various health reasons. jeera rice has replaced pongal in our house !!!!! (ofcourse jeera rice is also equaly good for health) children now a days like north indian dishes and typical east indian dishes like momos etc. apart from west taste like pizzas and burgers. thanks once again for reminding me of kanji. i vl start again !!!!

bars62