This quick Eggplant-Onion Rice makes a good one-dish meal. If you have
leftover rice, this vegetarian dish takes only 15 minutes to make. Try
it next time you want something different for lunch or dinner.
Servings: 2 Cooking Time: 35
minutes (including time for cooking rice)
Ingredients
1 cup rice (jasmine rice or any other non-sticky
rice)
2 cups, eggplants (long or small round ones), cut
into 1-inch pieces and immersed in a bowl of water to prevent
discoloring
1 1/2 cups onions, halved and cut into thin strips
2 green chillies, slit lengthwise
Salt to taste
For Seasoning
3-4 tsp vegetable oil
Asafoetida powder (hing), a pinch
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves
Salt to taste
For Masala
Use the store-bought Vangi Bhath powder (available in Indian grocery
stores or make the powder fresh with the following ingredients).
4 tsp coriander seeds (dhania)
3 tsp urad dal (split black gram)
4 tsp chana dal (split bengal gram)
6 tbsp dry, grated coconut
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
14-16 red chillies (adjust to taste)
Asafoetida (hing), a pinch
Preparation
Heat oil in a small pan, and fry the coriander, urad
dal, chana dal, and red chillies until golden brown and set aside to
cool. Add the grated coconut and fry until light brown.
When all the masala ingredients are cool, grind these
with some hing into a coarse powder.
Heat the oil in a wide skillet, and add the
asafoetida, cumin, and mustard seeds and fry until the seeds start
popping. Add the green chillies and fry for a second. Add the curry
leaves and fry for a couple of seconds.
Add the onion and salt and saute until lightly
browned.
Add the eggplant and salt. Saute the vangi or
eggplant on medium heat, until it's cooked and sauteed well.
Add the vangi bhath masala you just powdered (4-5
tsp) or 4-5 tsp of the store-bought powder, and fry for a couple of
seconds.
Add the cooked rice along with some salt and mix
well. Add more masala if needed.
Saute the eggplant-onion rice for a few minutes until
all flavors are combined.
Serve the eggplant-onion rice hot
with some papadams.
