Do you like eggplant? How about rice? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then you're going to love this Vangi Bath recipe!

This dish is a Karnataka-style favorite that combines both eggplant and rice into one delicious meal. I am going to show you how to prepare the perfect vangi bath powder and also put it to use to prepare this delicious dinner. So let's get started!

A white bowl filled with brinjal rice along with golden spoon

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Vangi bath is the name that is popularly known by. My mom prepares this dish quite often and I grew up getting used to her authentic recipe and that's what I am sharing today.

Vangi bath is a flavorful rice dish infused with several spices supporting eggplant, bell pepper, or a combination of both. The centerpiece of the dish however is the homemade vangi bath masala that you can prepare well ahead of time and store in an airtight container.

It is quite common to find this in ethnic grocery stores too, but the magic of homemade ingredients is unmatched and the freshness of ingredients is something you do not get in store-bought powders.

If you are running out of time to entertain guests or need a quick-fix dinner recipe, having a powder such as this one will come in handy. Brinjal rice is a vegan, gluten-free, and one-pot meal that you can prepare in less than 30 minutes when you have the powder ready to go.

The first attempt in preparing this dish in the Instant Pot pressure was a success. It really was that easy. So I have shared the instant pot method as well as the stovetop method here.

For the stovetop method, however, you have to cook the rice first and have it ready as you prepare the masala. The next time you find aubergines or little purple eggplants, try this recipe! You will not be disappointed!

Jump to:

Main ingredients
Instant Pot Method
How to make vangi bath powder?
Stovetop method or pan method
Recommended Rice
Tips and variations
📖 Recipe
Comments

Main ingredients

Peanuts: I used raw peanuts, you can use roasted peanuts too.
Brinjal or eggplant: I used baby brinjals, but any type of brinjal works in this recipe.
Rice: You can use any variety of rice for this recipe like basmati or sona masoori or jeera rice etc.
Onion: I used red onion, you can use any variety of onions.
Vangi bath powder: This is a spice powder that you can make at home and store for months. I am going to show you how! You can also get it from an Indian grocery store, but it is very easy to make at home.
Spices: You need spices like mustard seeds, urad dal, and turmeric powder for this recipe.
Tamarind: You need tamarind for the tangy taste. The quantity of tamarind you add depends on how much sourness you want to bring out in this recipe, so adjust according to your preference.
Jaggery: I used jaggery for sweetness, but you can use sugar too.

Instant Pot Method

Just like other Instant pot rice recipes, the cooling process for this brinjal rice recipe is as simple and easy to follow. Press the saute button and add coconut oil to the inner pot. As the oil heats up, add raw peanuts and saute them until they turn crispy.

An instant Pot filled with many ingredients along with eggplants

Add chana dal and saute for 30 sec followed by mustard seeds. Once everything starts to sizzle, add sliced onions, curry leaves, and sliced green chilies. Continue to saute them until onions turn translucent. Now, add the vangi bath powder and mix well to make sure the flavors are evenly mixed.

Now, it is time to add chopped eggplant, tamarind paste, jaggery, and salt. Mix well and add the rinsed basmati rice with the appropriate amount of water.

Press the 'cancel' button, close the lid and press the 'pressure cook' or 'manual' button and cook for 4 mins. At the end of the timer, release the pressure naturally before opening the lid. Vangi bath is almost ready! Fluff the rice gently with a fork and garnish with cilantro. Serve this fluffy and flavor-rich brinjal rice paired with raita or papad.

How to make vangi bath powder?

Vangi bath powder is an important ingredient in this recipe. It adds a ton of flavor and makes your vangi bath taste so delicious! The best part about it though is that you can make it in advance and store it for months at home!

Here is a list of ingredients to make vangi bath powder

3 - 4 red chilies
1 tablespoon gram dal or chana dal
1 teaspoon urad dal
2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 cm length cinnamon
5 cloves
1 star anise
1 cardamom pod
2 tablespoon dry coconut or desiccated coconut(optional)
cooking oil to saute

To prepare your own flavorful vangi bath masala powder, roast the ingredients listed above. Start by heating 2 teaspoon oil and roasting red chilies, gram dal, urad dal, and coriander seeds until slightly brown under the low-medium flame.

Follow up by adding cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom. Roast everything together until the dal turns brown.

At this point, add dried or desiccated coconut flakes and continue to saute for 30 seconds, and turn off the heat.

After the mixture cools down, grind it into a fine powder and keep it aside in an airtight container to serve whenever you feel like enjoying flavorful brinjal rice.

Stovetop method or pan method

For the stovetop method, you would have to cook the rice first in a pressure cooker or in a pot and place it aside.

On a separate pan over medium flame, add a few teaspoons of oil. As the oil heats up, start to saute the peanuts to a crispy texture. Continue to saute chana dal and mustard seeds. Once they start to sizzle add sliced onions, curry leaves, and sliced green chilies. Saute them until the onions turn translucent. Now, add the sliced brinjals and continue to saute until the slices soften follow up with the vangi bath powder and mix well.

To improve taste, add tamarind paste, jaggery, and salt and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat and add the cooked rice. Switch off the heat after 2 minutes. Then add the cooked rice and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Recommended Rice

It is common in my home state of Karnataka to prepare this dish with Sona Masoori rice. But today, I used Basmati rice because it stays in good form even when you mix the rice with the masala that you prepare. For rice-based dishes such as this one, it is very important that the rice does not become too mushy. Mushy rice makes it difficult to get an even mix and does not present well either.

You could choose to go with any kind, but keep in mind that the water to rice ratio and cooking time varies for every kind. Adding too much or too little water will affect the rice texture in a big way.

Tips and variations

Rice texture is very important for this recipe. It should be cooked just right and not too mushy.

If you are running short on time to prepare homemade vangi bath powder, you could also use store-bought vangi bath powder. Be sure to adjust your spice level when you add store-bought powder. I used 2 tablespoon of vangi bath powder.

If you don't have brinjals, use bell pepper (capsicum) for delicious results.

If this recipe interests you, look for similar recipes on my blog such as the