One Pot Meal: Vangi Bhaat

                                                               Vangi Bhaat/ Brinjal Rice
                                                          A Delicacy Of Karnataka, (South India)

A really easy dish to make. All you need is some cooked rice, see that it is  Sona Masuri or some other normal rice, please, please I beg you not to use Basmati Rice or any other rice that has an aroma of  its own for they are not meant for making South Indian dishes. Once you have the cooked rice ready, all you need is some Brinjals, you can use any type of Brinjal, white, green or violet, and some freshly ground masalas to make this yummy one pot meal.

Now lets get down to the ingredients:
1. Rice 1 cup/ tumbler ( cooked) I have used red/ brown rice which more healthy

2. Brinjal about 250 gms (if you are using small brinjals you can just slit them  in four, keeping the bottoms intact. if you are using regular long Brinjals then you can slice them into tiny pieces.
3. 1 cup of peanuts, dry roasted (we would be using a little for grinding and the rest to be added as  whole at the end)
4. Fenugreek seeds 1/2tsp.for grinding and 1/2 tsp for seasoning
5. Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp for seasoning.
6, a small bunch of curry leaves
7.2  green chillies slit
8. some fresh coriander leaves chopped.
9. one small onion finely chopped
10.  Salt to taste
11.  Tamarind (a really small lemon sized) soaked in a little water.
 12. Dry coconut grated, roasted and added in the end, about 3 tsps.

 The  Ingredients for the Masalas to be ground:
1, 2 inches of cinnamon
2.2-3 cloves
3.3-4 black pepper
4. Coconut about 2 tablespoons
5. dry red chillies- 3
6. dry roasted peanuts- about 4 tsps
7. if you like you can add 2 tsps of sesame seeds (optional)
8. a few curry leaves for added taste 

Directions:
 Heat a pan pour just 1/2 a tsp of any vegetable oil, and fry all the dry ingredients in a low heat.
Take them out and leave them to cool for grinding.This ground masala can be stored in the fridge and used for making stuffed Brinjal curry  too




Directions for the Brinjal mixture:
Next  in the same pan add about 4 tsps of vegetable oil, and once hot, season it with mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and once they have spulttered add curry leaves, slit green chillies , and chopped onions and fry for a few minutes, keeping the flame always on low.
After the onions have changed color (don't make them brown), add the Brinjals, (either the cut ones or the slit ones) turmeric powder, salt and mix everything , and let the Brinjals fry and cook for a little while.
Remember never to keep the heat on high, and keep stirring it once in a while.
After about 5 minutes, squeeze the tamarind juice and pour the juice into the pan, and keep the pan covered and let the Brinjals cook, keep removing the lid and keep stirring occasionally.

Grind the dry masalas, and add that to the Brinjal mixture, let everything blend for a while, keep stirring lightly.

Now add the remaining dry roasted peanuts, and add the boiled / cooked rice, and sprinkle the dry roasted copra or coconut, and mix everything well but with gentle hand. 

 Transfer the Brinjal Rice into a bowl or a big plate and sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves.

This yummy one pot meal is ready to be served. 

You can serve it curds, or make some Raita with cucumber, tomato and onion, and some Papads and Rice Fritters

                          You can also make some Curd rice  if you have some left over rice

 Serves 4-5
Preparation time: about 45 mins.

Now about Brown Rice:
(Brown rice contains higher amount of vitamins and minerals. The bran of brown rice not only increases the fibre content but also contains a variety of colour pigments that may be beneficial for health. Given that different variety of brown rice contains different amount of nutrients and colour pigments, it may be a good idea to include a variety of them in your diet. You can also enjoy a variety of flavour and texture by making it a point to use  Red Rice, Black Rice and Hand pounded Rice too. Stay away from everything white, like white bread, white rice, and white flour.

Consuming a diet rich in whole-grains, such as brown rice, is beneficial to health as it lowers the risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancer. It also helps in weight management).

Remember if you add some more Brinjal than what has been mentioned, it doesn't matter, it is still going taste terrific. You can increase or decrease the chillies according to your taste. 

Just do it and enjoy this recipe.