Vangi Bath | Eggplant/Brinjal Rice | Karthirikai sadam is cooked rice mixed with a semi dry curry made of eggplant|brinjal and spices.

The Vangi Bath Masala is prepared in many versions. Though it is a part of Karnataka’s cuisine, a spicier variation is made in Andhra and in Tamilnadu, it is made with few less ingredients. What ever version it is, there is no match for freshly home-made Vangi bath Masala. It is full of flavors and aromatic.

I have noticed, this dish is mostly homemade and very few restaurants serve them. It is served with pachidi or appalam/chips. I generally serve with Cucumber Pachidi and home-made Plantain|Nendrankai Chips is also a great side.

This is such an easy lunch box recipe when you have the Masala ready. You can make extra batches of masala and store in refrigerator for weeks. Being this simple, it can be easily made in large quantities for picnics and potlucks too.

Not-big-fan of Eggplant|Brinjal: You must try, you’ll love it! Other variation with same recipe is using green bell pepper|capsicum instead of eggplant|Brinjal.

Recipe: Meera Attai (Father’s sister, who lives in Bangalore for 30+ years)

Ingredients you will need:

For Spice Powder:
1 tbsp grated coconut (fresh, frozen or dry coconut powder)
1 tsp oil
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp Bengal gram / Chana dal
1″ stick cinnamon
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1/4 tsp Poppy seeds/Khus-Khus
1 tsp sesame seeds
4 dry red chillies (or to taste)
2 tsp Urad dal / ulatham paruppu

Other Ingredients:
1 cup rice
A marble-sized ball of tamarind
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Brinjal/ Eggplant (Usually the long green variety is used. small and purple is fine too)
Salt to taste

For Curry:
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp Bengal gram / channa dhal
2 dry red chilli
1/8 tsp Asafoetida
Curry leaves, Few

For Garnish:
2 tsp ghee
2 tbsp halved cashew nuts

Preparation:

Cook 1 cup rice with 2 cups of water. (If using pressure cooker: 3 whistles)

Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup hot water for 10 mins and extract juice (use a fork to extract juice if its still hot to handle)

Cut the Eggplant|Brinjal and add them to a bowl of water to avoid oxidation. This will prevent them from changing in color.

For the spice powder: Heat oil in a pan (preferably use a pan in which later we can cook the vegetable too) and add the ingredients one by one. Fry till spices and dhal are aromatic and slightly brown. Add the coconut at the last. Let them Cool completely before grinding to a powder.

Heat oil for tempering in the same pan. Add mustard seeds, once they start to splutter, add Bengal gram/channa dhal, red chilli, asafoetida, curry leaves and the eggplant|brinjal.

Add the turmeric powder, salt and mix well. Once the eggplant|brinjal starts to lose the moisture, add the tamarind extract.

Cover pan and cook till the eggplant|brinjal are tender and water is almost completely adsorbed. Add the spice powder and gently mix so that its all coated well.

Remove from heat and mix in the cooked rice. Reheat and gently stir to combine the rice with the mixture.

For garish: Heat ghee in the same pan (if using) and fry cashew nuts until golden brown and garnish with the fried cashew nuts and serve with Pachidi. Fresh Coriander/Cilantro leaves, roughly chopped sprinkled before serving makes the dish more aromatic.

You can make the spice powder in more quantity and store in Freezer/fridge. Comes very handy.

Happy cooking