vaangi bhaat

One of those combination-of-words which conjures up lot of childhood memories. This dish wasnt a regular one at home. It was a special dish and it followed that it would be made for/on special occasions...or maybe it was a special dish because it was made on special occasions?
Either ways, I suppose for every child growing up special occasions contain the same universal feelings of excitement, thrill and fun. Thereby by association the dish came to be labelled under "happy times". And then for-ever more the mere mention of the dish/recipe brings up a smile to say the least.

By and large I still try to keep the "lets make vaangi bhaat" line to the not-so-regular occasions. But I guess its a sign of changing times that I also make this whenever I feel homesick! :)

Right, so today for one reason or the other, the rice is on the menu. I feel like sharing this recipe and hope it will make those who try as happy as they make me. Also making a special apprearance is tendli to pair with the egg plant. [What in the world is the english equivalent of tendli??]

I've got:
2 cups of egg plant
1 cup of tendli {?}
1/2 cup of green peas {frozen will do just fine}
One medium onion
2/3 cup rice
1 cardamom {badi elachi}
2 small bay leaves
3 cloves
3 whole black pepper
1 small piece of cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black mustard seeds {wat? theres yellow too!}
2 tsp vaangi bhaat masala {u could substitute this with the usual mix of cumin+coriander+garam masala}
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder {or according to desired "hotness"!}
1 tsp olive oil
coconut and coriander paste {1 tsp shred coconut+few twigs of fresh coriander ground in a mixer}

I usually begin by soaking the rice in water. Chop up the onions, egg plant and tendli {and the peas if it pleases u} all preferably long slices. I dont think there is a direct relation between whether you chop the vege's long and horizontal or in cubes big or small....but hey, could very well be so.
Heat the oil and add the mustard and wait untill you hear it crackel. Then add the bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and the pepper. Add the chopped onion after 20-30 sec. When the onion has browned, add the dry spices i.e turmeric+vaangi masala/equivalent+red chilli powder. Then add the vegetables. Add 2-3 tbsp water, cover and let cook for about 10 min or untill the vegetables are almost cooked.
Drain and add the rice, and if you are using frozen peas this is where you would add them. Fry the mixture for about 5 min. Add water. As a rule of thumb we use a 1-2 ratio for the water. In our case we will add 1 1/3 cup of water for the 2/3 cup of rice.
Incidently, this amount of water also juuust covers the rice. I add salt at this juncture but it could be done at any point from the moment the vegetables went in to right at the end.
Half way through the cooking stir-in the ground mixture of the coconut and coriander.
Let the whole pot cook {ooh.. did i mention use a pot?} on low heat untill the rice is cooked. For those in whose mind lurks the question "when will i know its cooked?" .......eat the rice and see for urself if it meets ur 'cooked' standard! But this particular concoction should take about 15-20 min.

Weight Watchers points value for the whole dish: 14

Suggested Servings: 4 small or 2 maassive ones!

Points per serving: 3.5