Vegetable Brinji Rice

This one pot meal is a very flavorsome and a quick one to make if you have everything ready at hand that satisfies your hunger pangs . I had this in the party that I mentioned in this post. It immediately reminded me of the wedding lunches where all are served 1 or 2 big scoops of this rice as a part of the meal. This is an adaptation of my SIL’s recipe which I happen to like more than my own version. We prepared this mixed rice when I was in home town to attend a function and took it on our trip.

* I used carrots, cauliflower, French beans, fresh peas and potatoes

Soak the basmati rice in water for 30 minutes. Drain and reserve the water separately.

Heat a pan with butter. Add Shah jeera, when it splutters add the basmati rice and sauté over low flame so that all the grains gets well coated with butter. Use a wooden spatula to avoid breaking of rice. I made this rice in Automatic Electric Cooker but you can also do the same in a pressure cooker.

Heat oil and add star anise and bay leaf. Sauté for a min or till the aroma arises. Now add the onions cut into juliennes and sauté till it turns pink.

Now add the ground paste and sauté till a good aroma arises and the raw smell goes off. Stir it continuously to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan. Now add the tomatoes, salt and cook till the tomato breaks.

Add the vegetables and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add the sautéed basmati rice, coconut milk, reserved water and extra water so that it measures to a total of 4 cups. Give it a good mix so that all gets mixed thoroughly.

Once it gets cooked the switch will automatically trip to “warm” mode. Mix it in between twice to avoid the vegetables settling down at the bottom of the pan. If pressure cooking, cook for 1 whistle and simmer for 5 minutes and switch off the stove.

You will see that the rice is still moist but not to worry give it 10 minutes standing time and every thing will get set. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve with Raita.