Description:
Vangi bhaat is a popular rice dish from Karnataka cuisine. This is a flavorful – spicy dish, made with brinjals (eggplants), spices & herbs. I learnt to cook this dish from my grandmother which is her one of the best dishes. This is a combination of basmati rice and masala eggplants, cooked together in biryani style.
Ingredients (serve 4 people):
For rice
- 1 ยฝ cup basmati rice
- 5 whole black pepper
- 3-4 cloves (Lavang)
- 1 bay leaf
- 7-8 brinjals (small eggplants)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 3-4 cup water
- 2 tsp oil
For masala
- 5 tsp oil
- ยฝ cup coarse ground peanut powder (peanuts should be roasted before grinding)
- 6 garlic pods
- 1 ยฝ inch ginger
- 2 tbsp shredded dry coconut
- 1 tsp til (sesame seeds)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp jaggery
- ยฝ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 ยฝ tsp kala masala
- ยผ tsp hing (Asafoetida)
- 1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
- 3 tbsp fresh coriander
- 10-12 saffron strands soaked in milk
- 1/2 cup deep fried sliced onions
- 8-10 mint leaves (pudina)
- 2-3 tbsp curd (yogurt)
- 1 tsp salt
Procedure:
Take basmati rice in a bowl, wash it a few times and soak in water for 20 min.
Wash all brinjals well, cut them (as shown in pictures) and soak it in salt water so that they won’t turn out black from inside.
In a mixer jar, add coconut, garlic pods, ginger, shredded dry coconut, til, cumin seeds, jaggery, turmeric, red chili powder, kala masala, hing, cumin-coriander powder and 2 tbsp fresh coriander. Blend it well.
Now take ยฝ cup coarse ground peanut powder in a bowl and add grinded mixture in it. Add salt, curd and mix all the ingredients well.
Now take 1 brinjal and fill this masala in it and repeat the same procedure for all brinjals. Then take a pan over medium heat, add 2 tsp oil and stuffed brinjals. Saute it for a few mins then cover and let it cook for 8-10 mins. (Keep them a bit uncooked / 80-85% cooked) and keep them aside.
Take a deep bottom wide pan over high flame, then add 3-4 cup water, cloves, black peppers and bay leaf. Bring it to boil. Once boiled add 2 tsp oil and salt, stir it and add soaked rice. Cook the rice for 7-8 mins (about 80-85%). Then turn off the flame and drain all the water using a strainer.
Take a thick bottom pot over low heat, add 1 tsp oil and make the first layer of rice then place stuffed brinjals along with remaining masala (before adding masala, add 2 tbsp water to masala) and sprinkle some fried onions.
Then add a layer of remaining rice, on top of it sprinkle fried onions, mint leaves, fresh coriander and saffron milk. Lastly add 2 tsp oil, cover it and let it cook for 15-20 min on low flame. After 20 min, turn off the flame and serve vangi bhaat with raita.
P.S. (If you don’t have Kala masala, you can use garam masala)
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
๐๐จ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฝ๐ผ 