Vangi Bhath / Brinjal Rice Recipe

I love anything with eggplant in it. Roasted, grilled, fried, sauteed, curried, you name it! I don't remember liking kathirikkai so much as a kid but now, I pick it up every week during vegetable shopping. In Singapore the more common variety is the longer purple ones that are called Japanese brinjal. The good part is, they usually don't have worms or bugs in it and stay fresh in the fridge for a longer time.

But I really couldn't resist these smaller eggplants that we see more in India. I got it from the local Malayali store and immediately made vangi bhath with it - something amma didn't make and so had been on my to - do list for a long long time.

Cube the brinjal and dunk them into the tamarind juice

The basic recipe is from Chandra Padmanabhan's Southern Spice, a book that I turn to so much for anything South Indian!

Vangi Bhath Recipe

What I Used:

1 cup cooked rice (I used ponni rice but basmati will work too)
A marble-sized ball of tamarind
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
6 small aubergines / eggplant / kathirikkai

For Spice Powder:

2 tsp oil
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2" stick cinnamon
2 cloves
4 dry red chillies (I'd make it spicier next time)
3 tsp Bengal gram / Chana dal / Kadala paruppu
2 tsp Urad dal / ulatham paruppu / uzhunnu parippu
1 tbsp grated coconut (fresh, frozen or dessicated)

For Tempering:

2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera / jeerakam
1/2 tsp asafoetida / hing / perungayam
1 dry red chilli, torn into pieces
1 sprig curry leaves

For Garnish (Optional)

2 tsp ghee
1/4 cup halved cashewnuts

How I Made It:

1. Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup warm water for 10 mins and extract juice. Add salt and turmeric to this and transfer to a pan.

2. Cube the aubergines and add to the tamarind juice and let soak for 15 mins.

3. Heat oil for spice powder in a pan and add remaining ingredients for spice powder. Fry till spices are fragrant and the dals turn golden brown. Cool and grind to a powder.

4. Heat ghee for garnish in the same pan (if using) and fry cashewnuts until golden brown. Set aside.

5. Heat oil for tempering in the same pan and add all the ingredients for tempering. When mustard seeds start popping, add the aubergines with the tamarind extract.

6. Cover pan and simmer for about 10 mins till the aubergines are tender and water is almost completely adsorbed.

7. Mix in the cooked rice and spice powder and remove from fire.

8. Garnish with the fried cashewnuts and serve warm with raita.

The flavours will be really delightful to an eggplant lover. TH and I both loved it and the next time I buy these small eggplants, I am surely making it again.