Canja
/ˈkɑːnʒə/noun
A Portuguese- or Brazilian-style soup, typically made with chicken, rice, and broth.
Did you know?Canja is historically connected to congee, showing how a word for rice gruel traveled through maritime trade and colonial contact into Portuguese cuisine.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Dravidian
Proto-Dravidian
*kañci
“Gruel or thin rice porridge”
Ancient South India
Tamil
kañci
“Rice gruel or porridge”
Medieval period
Malayalam
kanji
“Rice porridge or gruel”
16th–17th Century
Malay
kanji
“Porridge, especially rice gruel”
16th–17th Century
Portuguese
canja
“A rice-based gruel or soup”
Modern English
English
canja
“A chicken-and-rice soup associated especially with Portuguese and Brazilian cooking”