Vangi Bhath (Eggplant Rice)

Eggplant is my favorite veggie (I might have told you many times) and can eat it almost everyday of the week. Back home, my mom used to make so many different varieties of curries with brinjals. My husband is not a big fan (in other words… he never liked), but I have successfully steered him to at least try a little without complaining.

Last night I wanted to make vangi bhath and realized I didn’t have enough eggplant to make it, so I ended up adding a quarter cauliflower that was left from the cauliflower rice (Menu Today’s awesome recipe) I made over the weekend. I turned out pretty good.

Ingredients:
Cooked Rice – 2cups
Eggplant – 1 medium, chopped fine
Cauliflower florets – 1 cup
Green peas – ½ cup
Green chilies – 4
Peanuts – handful
Cashews – 10
Tamarind pulp– 3tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Masala powder – 4 tsp (recipe follows)
Curry leaves – 6
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Heat 1tsp oil/ghee in a pan, fry peanuts and cashews until they are golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp of oil, add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add green chilies, curry leaves and fry for 1 minute.Add the chopped eggplant and cauliflower, mix well to coat all the veggies with the oil. Cover and cook on medium-low flame till they are soft enough.
• Add the peas (I used frozen peas-thawed), tamarind paste, masala powder and cook for 5 minutes.
  
• Add 1 tsp of oil/ghee and turmeric to the rice, mix well. Add eggplant mixture, fried peanuts & cashews, salt and mix well.
  
• Serve with any kind of raita.

I had my vangi bhath with tomato kadhi and Papads.

Masala Powder: This is the same masala used for Bisibeli bhath.

Ingredients:
Chana dal (Senaga pappu) - 2tbsp
Urad dal (Minapappu) - 2tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1tsp
Cinnamon stick - 1"
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 4
Grated coconut (fresh or dry) - 1 tbsp
Red chilies - 5
Cumin seeds - 1tbsp
Method: Roast all the above in 1tsp ghee. Cool and grind into powder. Any left over masala can be stored in a air-tight container and used as needed.