Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 30 min
Serves: 3

Ingredients: (measuring cup used = 240ml)

1. 2 tender long green brinjal
2. 1 cup sona masuri rice
3. 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
4. 1 tsp gram dal or chana dal
5. 1 tsp urad dal
6. 5 - 6 cashews or 2 tbsp ground nuts
7. 5 - 6 curry leaves
8. 1 gooseberry sized tamarind
9. 1 tsp jaggery (optional)
10. 2 tbsp vangi bath powder
11. 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
12. Salt as per your taste
13. 8 tsp cooking oil

Ingredients for vangi bath masala powder:

1. 3 - 4 red chilies
2. 2 tsp gram dal or chana dal
3. 2 tsp urad dal
4. 2 tsp coriander seeds
5. 2 cm length cinnamon
6. 5 cloves
7. 1 star anise
8. 2 tbsp dry coconut or desiccated coconut
9. 1/2 tsp cooking oil

Instructions for making vangi bath:

1. To prepare vangi bath, first cook the rice and set it aside.
2. If you don't have vangi bath masala powder, roast the ingredients listed above. Firstly heat 1/2 tsp oil and roast red chilies, gram dal, urad dal and coriander seeds until slightly brown under low-medium flame.
3. Followed by add in cinnamon, cloves, star anise and poppy seeds. Roast everything together until dals turn brown.
4. At the end add in dry or desiccated coconut, fry for a while and switch off the stove. Wait until cool and grind it into a fine powder and keep it aside.
5. Next let us poceed with the vangi bath recipe. Try to use tender green brinjals for better taste.
6. cut the brinjals into 2 " pieces and slit them length wise. Soak the cut brinjals in good drinking water and set it aside.
7. Take a oil in a frying pan and heat it. Add in mustard seeds, gram dal, urad dal and cashews.
8. Fry until mustard seed splutters and dals turn brown in colour. But do not burn them. Add in curry leaves and reduce the flame.
9. Add in soaked brinjal pieces by squeezing out the water. Fry the brinjals for 1 minute under high flame.
10. Add in turmeric powder and fry for 2 more minutes under medium flame.
11. Add in salt.
12. Add in tamarind juice extracted from one gooseberry sized tamarind. Optionally you can add little jaggery.
13. Cover and cook the brinjals for 5 minutes under low flame.
14. Now add in 2 tbsp of vangi bath powder.
15. Fry for 2 more minutes and switch off the stove.
16. Add in cooked rice.
17. Mix well using a flat spatula. Serve it with raita or curd rice.

Dear reader, We have a Kannada version of this recipe. Click here to read this recipe in Kannada.