Vangi Bhath - Brinjal (Egg Plant) Rice - Tastes of Karnataka - Indian Vegetarian Food

First we need to cook rice. Take raw rice into a bowl and add water. Wash the rice thoroughly and drain the water. Add 235gms water to the washed rice and place this bowl in a pressure cooker and cook. After first whistle, lower the flame and cook rice for ten minutes. Allow the pressure cooker to cool down and then remove the rice bowl. Take a fork and fluff the hot rice to separate the grains. Spread the fluffed rice in a plate and keep it aside.

Wash Brinjals and cut them into slices. Take the brinjal pieces into a microwave safe bowl and add 1/4tsp salt and 1Tbsp oil. Mix well to coat the oil on all brinjal pieces. Place this bowl in microwave oven and cover it partially. Cook the brinjals on high power for 2 minutes. Stir once with a spoon and cook again on high power for 2 minutes. Allow two minutes standing time before removing the bowl from oven.

Peel and slice onions.

Preparing Vangi Bhaath Powder:

Ingredients:

• Bengal gram – 2tsps

• Black Gram – 1 1/4tsp

• Coriander Seeds – 1tsp

• Red chilies – 2 (Break chilies into small pieces)

• Dry Coconut Powder – 2tsps

• Ground Nuts – 6

• Sesame Seeds – 1/4tsp

• Turmeric Powder – 1/8tsp

• Asafoetida – A Pinch

Method:

Heat a pan and add bengal gram, black gram, coriander seeds, ground nuts and red chili pieces. Fry the above ingredients on low flame stirring. Fry till the seeds start changing color. Then add sesame seeds, asafoetida and dry coconut powder. Switch off the flame and mix all the ingredients. The heat retained by the pan will be sufficient to fry the ingredients which have been added. Take the fried ingredients into a dry mixie jar and add turmeric powder. Grind the ingredients to a coarse powder. Store the powder till use in a closed container to retain the aroma.

Method:

Heat a pan and add the remaining 2Tbsps of oil. When oil is sufficiently hot add cashew nut pieces and fry till they turn golden in color. Drain the fried cashew nut pieces and add cumin seeds. Fry till the cumin seeds splutter and then add the sliced onions. Fry the onions stirring till they start changing color. Then add cooked brinjal pieces, salt and prepared spice powder. Mix all well and add cooked rice. Mix again to coat the masala to the rice. Cover the pan and cook on low flame for one minute. Remove the lid and add the fried cashew nut pieces and mix again. Transfer the Vangi Bhath to a serving plate and serve with any raita.

Points to Remember:

Generally, for brinjal preparations the more oil we use the tastier the dish will be. However cook in microwave oven with less oil and enjoy tasty brinjal dishes.

Long grain rice like basmati rice also may be used for this recipe for better looks and good taste. Cook rice either in pressure cooker or rice cooker or even on the stove top.

The microwave cooking timings shown here may differ depending upon the capacity and wattage of the microwave ovens you are using. See that the vegetable is just cooked. The vegetables should retain the shape and should not become mushy.

For the spice powder it is necessary to fry the ingredients on low flame only. Frying on high flame gives a brown color to the grains from outside but there will be some rawness inside the grains. So fry on low flame only stirring all the while for even frying.

After adding dry coconut first switch off the flame and then mix all the ingredients. The heat of the pan will be sufficient to roast the ingredients which have been added later. Sesame seeds, dry coconut and asafoetida do not require much roasting—if roasted for a long period they give a burnt taste. So just mix the ingredients till the coconut slightly changes color and then immediately transfer the fried ingredients to another plate or bowl to stop further roasting.

Do not grind the spices to a fine powder—at the same time do not grind the spices to a very coarse texture.