Vaangi Baath

Finally, the moment of truth.

Yeah, the whole thing is fussy and work but deal with it. As the CC said before, this is one of the joys of life.

The recipe is a myriad of textures. Each bite is different if you make it right because of the sheer multitude of textures in the combination.

(Source: modified from Cooking at Home with Pedatha.)

Ingredients

1 cup rice
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp vaangi baath podi

2 japanese eggplants (cubed)
1 potato (diced medium)
1 green pepper (diced medium)
1/2 cup peas

for tempering

1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp urad daal
4 green chillies (sliced vertically on one side)
1 tsp asafoetida
12-16 curry leaves

the paste

1/4 cup dry coconut
2 green chillies
1/2 bunch coriander leaves (yep, leaves only!)

the powder

1/4 cup urad daal
1/4 cup chana daal (bengal gram)

Recipe

Boil the rice in plenty of salted water with the turmeric until just under soft. Drain, let cool and set aside.

Roast the dry coconut until golden. Grind with the green chillies and coriander leaves into a fine paste with the minimum amount of water possible. Scrape into a bowl.

Dry roast the two daals on low heat until they turn golden. Grind to a fine powder. Set aside.

Add half the paste, the vaangi baath podi to the rice and mix gently. (This can most effectively be done with your hands so jump in there and mix them gently.)

Heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds until they pop; add the urad daal. Add the rest of the tempering ingredients (curry leaves, asafoetida, green chillies.)

Add the chopped vegetables, and stir-fry without adding any water until done. (The order, in case it is not obvious, is necessarily potato, green pepper, eggplants.)

This step takes a looooooooooooong time so the CC advises that you chill during this step (and yes! the not adding any water makes all the difference in the world!)

Add the peas, the remaining half of the paste, and all of the prepared powder. Cook for 3-4 minutes on a low flame.

Mix all the ingredients together and serve.

Vaangi baath