Vangi Bath

Have you ever tried adding brinjal/eggplant to your rice dish? You are missing out big time.

This is a healthy and tasty vangi (eggplant/brinjal) bath (rice) dish which is very popularly dish prepared in Maharashtrian and Karnataka cuisine. This dish is prepared using a rich blend of spices. It’s a one pot soul satisfying meal. 1st time when I decided to prepare it I was bit skeptical. But believe me it was super delicious and full of flavours and texture. I enjoyed it so much so that I decided to prepare it again in few days. It is a vegan and gluten free recipe.

Here is how I made it. It has a lot of wonderful flavours and tastes amazing. This recipe serves 2-3 people.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Masala Blend:
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp methi seeds
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
3-4 dry red chili
Or
2 tbsp sambar powder

Other ingredients:
1½ cup sona masuri rice
4 medium eggplant (brinjal) sliced lengthwise
1 medium onion sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup fresh/frozen green peas
Oil for cooking
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
1/4 cup peanuts
Small pinch asafoetida
8-10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp masala blend (recipe above) or sambar powder
1 tbsp ghee (optional)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice

Procedure:

1. Soak rice for 30 minutes. Remove the water and add 3 cup water. Remember the rice to water ratio 1:2. Cook rice until they are slightly under cooked. We need to finish cooking them with eggplant later.

2. Dry roast masala ingredients till aromatic stirring continuously. When dal changes the colour slightly, turn off the heat. Let it cool down completely and grind to powder. You can prepare this ahead of time. You can make extra and use it in future. It stays good for few months in airtight container.  I had sambar powder I prepared earlier so I used that.

3. Cut eggplant and onion, slice both lengthwise.

4. In wide bottom pan, heat 2 tbsp oil. Keep the heat to medium. Add mustard and cumin seeds. In few seconds when mustard seeds starts to pop, add chana dal, urad dal and peanuts. Stir and sauté for about a minute until dal and peanut turns slight brown. Then add curry leaves and asafoetida.

5. While curry leaves frying, add eggplant and onion slices. Sauté for 3-4 on low to medium heat stirring frequently. Once onions are translucent, add green peas, salt and one cup water to the veggies. Mix and cover the lid and cook it until eggplant are almost cooked.

6. Add spices like turmeric powder, chili powder and masala blend we prepared earlier. You can replace masala blend with sambar powder if you have it. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

7. Then add rice to and 1 tbsp ghee. Also squeeze some lemon juice on top. Mix everything carefully. Cover the lid and turn off the heat. Rice is now ready.

8. You can garnish it with chopped coriander leaves before serving. You can serve this rice with cucumber raita, pickle and papad (papadam) on side. I had prepared veggie eggplant using South Indian spices (recipe coming soon).

This rice has rich flavour of spices. Peanuts and daal adds crunch. Super delicious and healthy. Do give this one pot meal a go! It is definitely worth a try. I absolutely enjoyed it, hope you do too. You can skip ghee if you are making it vegan.

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