Brinjal rice or Vaangi Bath

Aubergine or Egg Plant in Rice and Spice

Vaangi Bath or Brinjal Rice

Brinjal  sounds sad.  Egg plant sounds so so . Aubergine sounds  la-di-da. “Baingan” many in North India say, is “be gun”—without any character. Yet, in some countries and some cuisine, it is a smashing hit.

And regardless of being discarded as characterless in North, and not the most popular of vegetables in the South, the brinjal is used to make a variety of dishes.

Round brinjals

It is one of those vegetables that comes in many sizes, and colours, and sometimes even in shades put together. White, green, purple, purple and white striped ones. Small and round, huge and round, sometimes really long and thin..

Brinjals diced into small cubes

 I bought some with the idea of making the most popular, and  thus, the most ordinariest of dishes made using these huge, round brinjals—Baingan ka Bharta. 

But I gave in to the temptation of trying out a dish I’d not eaten in a real long time—Vaangi Bath or Brinjal Rice.

 A call to Mom in Chennai, and I knew that the dish would give the taste of the brinjal rice I had to be coaxed to eat as a child, but grew to like after my college years.

Brinjal cooked almost like a subzi

 It is probably one of those adult if not sexy dishes! For children can rarely be made to enjoy eating this one.

It is simple to make, and all it needs on the side, is a plate full of potato wafers or fryums. Or a bowl of raita. Best part. I'd converted a bowl of rice sitting in the fridge for almost a day, into something hot and spicy, and a very tasty complete  meal.

Time taken : 5 minutes, presuming you have plain rice, cooked and cooled, and some  “curry “ powder or “fresh sambar powder” ready.

Ingredients:

Brinjal-1 big round one

Cooked Rice- 1 cup

Fresh sambar powder or curry powder- 1 heaped teaspoon

Salt to taste

Turmeric-a pinch

Asofeatida-a pinch

Dry Red chillies-2

Mustard seeds-Half a teaspoon

Urad dal dehusked,split-Half a teaspoon

Curry leaves-a few

Tamrind paste-a quarter teaspoon, diluted in a teaspoon of water

Vegetable oil-three teaspoons

Wash and dice the brinjal into tiny pieces.

In a frying pan, add the add, and when it smokes add the dry red chillies and mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to crackle, add the urad dal, asofeatida and curry leaves.

Curry or Fresh Sambar powder

 When the dal turns a nice golden hue, take out some of this for a garnish, and  add the chopped brinjal. Add the tamrind water. Stir gently, and add the turmeric and salt, and mix well. Cook on low flame , stirring every now and then, till the brinjal is cooked by not shrunk too much.

 Now add the curry powder or fresh sambar powder, stir, and switch off.

Brinjal Rice or Vaangi Bath

Add this cooked brinjal to the cooked rice, and mix well. Garnish with the tempering that you earlier removed from the pan, and the Vaangi Bath is ready to be devoured.

It makes for a nice meal in a tiffin box, to be taken to school or work, with a packet of Lays. Saif (Ali Khan) would never have imagined that his favourite snack can lift a meal, so , so high!