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Recipe

Thari Kanji recipe (Malabar sweet semolina drink)

By Abdulla K P PT25M total

A glass of warm Thari Kanji, the Malabar sweet semolina drink, topped with cashews and raisins.

The gentle start to iftar

Thari Kanji is designed to be the first thing you drink after a day’s fast — warm, lightly sweet, easy on an empty stomach. Keep it thin and don’t over-boil it once the coconut milk is in. It belongs to the same Ramadan iftar table as Kozhi Ada and Sukhiyan.

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Frequently asked

  • What is Thari Kanji?

    Thari Kanji is a light, sweet Malabar drink made from a little roasted semolina (thari/rava) cooked in milk and coconut milk with sugar and cardamom, topped with ghee-fried shallots, cashews and raisins. It's served hot to break the Ramadan fast and is said to settle the stomach gently before the main meal.

  • Is Thari Kanji a drink or a porridge?

    It sits between the two — made with only a little semolina, it's thin enough to drink from a glass but warming and lightly thickened. Use more semolina for a thicker porridge, less for a drink.

  • Why fry shallots into a sweet drink?

    The ghee-fried shallots add a savoury-sweet depth that's characteristic of Malabar sweets (the same idea as in Kalathappam). It's traditional — but you can leave them out and keep just the cashews and raisins if you prefer.

  • Can I make Thari Kanji vegan?

    Yes — use all coconut milk in place of dairy milk and coconut oil in place of ghee. The flavour shifts a little but it works well.