Reaping gold from ‘black carrots’: Abohar woman takes Punjab’s ‘kaali gaajar kaanji’ to US, Canada, Ireland

In the times when such traditional recipes are nearly forgotten, a woman from Punjab’s border town Abohar (Fazilka), is not just keeping the rare drink alive within the country, but has also taken it offshore with exports to Canada, US and Ireland, and soon Australia too.

Dolly Setia’s (56) black carrot kanji is now being savoured across Chandigarh, Delhi, Ludhiana, and even in New York, Dublin and Toronto having ample Punjabi diaspora. Her venture “Kanjiwala- Say Hanji to Kanji” — where the kanji is being manufactured — has given employment to at least 20 local women from Abohar’s Toot Wala village.

Apart from black carrots, Dolly is also manufacturing beetroot kanji, amla kanji, red chilli kanji, haldi (turmeric) kanji, green chilli and cucumber kanji.

The process of manufacturing kanji requires a lot of manual labor, and the women are trained to do it manually — from washing and peeling the carrots to chopping them and then putting them in water drums for fermentation. It gives kanji that “authentic, Punjabi taste”.

Dolly told The Indian Express: “My mother and mother-in-law used to make black carrots kanji so it was nothing new for me. We are already into the family business of pickles for some years now and fresh veggies are grown on our farm. So two years ago we thought we should also process black carrots… This year we exported it for the first time to the US and the response was tremendous.”

Apart from black carrots, Dolly is also manufacturing beetroot kanji, amla kanji, red chilli kanji, haldi (turmeric) kanji, green chilli and cucumber kanji.

She also said, “Apart from the right amount of black salt and mustard seeds, weather also plays a major role to get that authentic taste. The drink should get ample sunshine and the right temperature for perfect fermentation.”

Apart from black carrots, Dolly is also manufacturing beetroot kanji, amla kanji, red chilli kanji, haldi (turmeric) kanji, green chilli and cucumber kanji.

Setia supervising workers while peeling black carrots. (Express photo)

Dolly’s son Sharad Setia said: “We are growing black carrots on five to six acres at our farm… In the US, we are supplying it in New York stores including Patel Brothers store, Maharaja in Long Island and Apna Bazar in Richmond Hill. We have received a repeat order from the US while response from Canada and Ireland is awaited. We have exported nearly 6,000 bottles of kanji till now. We will export to Australia too in the coming days.”

Sharad also said: “The venture was started in 2023 with a very small investment as the shed/building was already in place as earlier we had a kinnow waxing plant… The initial setup cost was Rs 4-5 lakh only. Only bare minimum machinery was purchased such as semi-manual cutters to chop carrots and… The annual turnover now is Rs 1 crore approximately (both pickles and kanji). We pay workers on a daily basis (Rs 300-350 per day) along with travel expenses and also provide them veggies for their own consumption.”

Dolly Setia with her team of workers who process black carrots at the kanji unit. (Express photo)

In Punjab, kanji has been a pricey delicacy and are not grown commonly by farmers due to less demand and sale. These were traditionally used in salads and even as a colouring agent by paani puri vendors.