Vangi Bhat (Spicy Indian Eggplant & Rice) Recipe
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Recipe Story
Vangi Bhat is a delicious one pot meal. It is a wonderful combination of eggplant and rice combined with lovely aromatic spices. This is a typical Maharashtrian specialty but enjoyed throughout Southern India as well. My grandmother was an expert when it came to cooking and this dish was no exception. Whenever we would visit, this dish was made. We would eat it with home made papads (crispy then lentil wafers), it was a wonderful and delicious combination.Ingredients
How to make Vangi Bhat (Spicy Indian Eggplant & Rice)
In a small dry skillet on medium low heat, toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, dried red chilies and desiccated coconut. Stir fry until fragrant and lightly toasted. Be careful not to burn the spices. Remove quickly from the heat and add the garam masala. Let cool and using a spice grinder (or clean coffee grinder) grind the spices into a fine powder.
Just before needed, trim and cut the eggplant into even pieces (1 inch in size).
In a large deep skillet or soup pot on medium high heat, add the oil. When hot, add the black mustard seeds, asafetida and the fresh curry leaves. Next, add the rice and stir until well coated with the fragrant oil (about 2-3 minutes). Add the cashews, bay leaf, salt and the freshly ground spice mixture. Mix well to combine and add the eggplant pieces. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a good boil, cover and reduce the heat. Let simmer until done (around 10-12 minutes). Halfway through the cooking process, add the yogurt and carefully stir through the rice and eggplant mixture. The rice should be thoroughly cooked and the eggplant should be soft and tender. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and freshly grated coconut. Serve hot with papad and yogurt on the side.
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Comments
EvaEva says :
I made this recipe the other night with a couple of modifications, and it is delightful. The flavour was beautiful and balanced, and now I have a new recipe that I know I can make in different ways and it will be great. My modifications were to use a japanese rice which gave it a wonderful bite, and I did not have coriander, so I did not use that. I used more cashews than stated in the recipe, I used a cup of coconut powder instead of the flakes stated in the recipe, and I baked the eggplant with some sea salt and extra virgin olive oil for about 20 minutes before adding to the rice mixture. The eggplant had a slightly crispy carmelized quality from the baking, and that enhanced this recipe. I did need to use about 1.5 to 2 more cups of water to cook the rice completely. I'll be making this again in a day or two. Delicious.