Recipe for a delicious ‘Indian kombucha’

Kombucha has been around for a long time, approximately for some 2,000 years now. Brewed for the first time in China, the fermented drink was traditionally made with black tea, yeast, sugar and water. Just a few simple ingredients and you can make this healthy drink at home without any assistance. Fitness coach Nidhi Gupta posted a recipe of fermented kanji or “Indian kombucha” on Instagram. She wrote, ”Once prepared, you can store it in the refrigerator and you should drink a small glass of it every day.” Check out the recipe here:

Ingredients and method

*In a big glass pitcher, take two big red beets.

*Add salt, red chilli powder, crushed mustard seeds and water.

*Keep it in the sun for 5-6 days.

*Stir once every day with a clean, dry spoon.

*After it’s fermented, store it in the refrigerator and have a small glass of it every day.

In recent times, kombucha has found a liege of supporters who claim the probiotic beverage has gut cleansing properties along with antioxidants. Nidhi’s recipe contains “fibre, antioxidants, vitamins K, C, potassium and magnesium”.

The fitness coach added that the same recipe can be made with the red variant of carrots available in the market, especially during the winter months. Kanji may be called an Indian version of kombucha as it has a slight alcoholic taste and is predominantly made during the festival of Holi in north and central India. Traditionally, it is made with black or red carrots, beets, mustard seeds and pinch of hing (asafoetida).