A - Z Tamil Nadu Recipe Series ~ B for Brinji / Tamilnadu Style Brinji Rice Cooked in Coconut Milk

Brinji or vegetable brinji is a simple, delicious and easy one pot meal made with rice and mixed veggies, with it's origins in Tamil Nadu. Some believe the dish has Persian roots, since rice is called berenj in Iran, thus indicating that the dish might be a borrowed one. This rice dish is considered to be in existence way before biryani/pulao arrived in the region. Being older, the south Indian ingredients like coconut and pepper are incorporated into the recipe, thus making it different than biryani / pulao / tahiri dishes. Also the Tamil word for bay leaves, brinji elai comes from being generously used in the preparation of brinji.  

South Indian style short grain rice is preferred to make brinji. Flavored rice like seeraga samba would be a perfect fit but Basmati would be a nice substitution which is easy to source. It is possible that the earlier version used little or no vegetables but the modern versions uses the standard vegetables used in a pulao recipe. Also the early recipe must have relied only on pepper for the heat since chilies were still an unknown ingredient in the Indian subcontinent. A garnish of fried bread cubes or soya nuggets chunks to the finished dish is also common.

Over the years, I have been seeing brinji recipe where the standard spices like cloves, cinnamon and cardamom being used and onions get sautéed. I made a small portion following the recipe here which does not use those spices and also onion or tomatoes do not get sautéed. It is hard to even notice the fact that they were not sautéed.  I even skipped the garlic from the recipe as I am not a fan of it's flavor. The recipe still is a keeper as the dish is absolutely delicious and very easy to remember or follow. This is a fuss-free dish where all you do is chop a few vegetables and layer it to pressure cook. The recipe is a quick one if you overlook the one hour wait time that is needed for marinating the veggies in coconut-ginger-garlic paste and soaking the rice part. 

Here are some other rice based dishes from Tamil Nadu for you to enjoy.

Arsis Paruppu Sadam

Chettinad Vegetable Biryani / Kaikari Biryani

Dindigul Thalapakatti Veg Biryani 
Ellorai (Sweet Version)
Ellu Sadam / Sesame Seeds Rice

Iyengar Style Kadambam

Iyengar Puliyodharai

Kalkandu Saadam

Lemon Rice

Paal Pongal / Vellai Pongal

Sambhar Sadam

Yogurt Rice

Ven Pongal

Ingredients for marinating: (Yield 4 servings)

1/2 cup peeled and cubed potatoes

1/2 cup peeled and chopped carrot

1/2 cup shelled fresh / frozen peas

1/2 cup chopped mint leaves (I used both mint & cilantro)

1 tsp. red chili powder

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 cup coconut paste *

2 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste **(I omitted garlic.)

1 tsp. salt

* Grind 1/4 cup coconut to a paste using 1/4 cup water

** 6 garlic cloves and an inch piece of ginger ground to paste with little water. Use 1 tbsp. paste if using store bought one.

Ingredients for brinji:

1 cup Basmati rice

1 tbsp. ghee

3 bay leaves, crushed

2 medium sized onions, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1/3 cup light coconut milk

2/3 cup water

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients mentioned under marination list to a wide bowl and mix well. Cover and leave it aside to marinate for about an hour. The mixture would release liquid after marination.

2. Rinse and soak rice in water for about an hour. Drain the rice after soaking period.

3. Add ghee to a 3 liter sized / small pressure cooker and add the torn bay leaves. 

4. Top it with chopped onions and tomatoes uniformly.

5. Spread half of the marinated vegetables along with the liquid over onion and tomato mixture.

6. Next add rice over the veggies in an even layer.

7. Layer it again with the remaining veggies.

8. Pour the coconut milk and water over it and close the lid.

9. Cook on medium flame for two whistles and turn off the stove. Wait until the cooker's valve pressure is gone. 

10. Wait for 15 - 20 minutes and open the lid. Fluff and serve with raita or vegetable korma.

This is going to be my contribution to this week's Blogging marathon, with the theme 'A -Z Series'. Check the page link to see what other marathoners are cooking.

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Vazhakkai Poriyal

Most of the traditional curries cooked on a daily basis in south Indian kitchens are simple and quick preparations. They are served as a side dish to rice and go by different regional names like koora, palya, poriyal, and thoran. An example is this plantain curry aka vazhakkai poriyal that was a part of Tamil Nadu lunch thaali, I posted a while ago. It is a tasty, every day kind of curry that can be prepared with the basic ingredients found in any Indian home. 

The preparation is so common place that one can replace plantain in the recipe with any other vegetable. However it is to be noted that some vegetables may need not need boiling at all and just sautéing is needed. This was the first time I had a plantain curry with such simple flavors, vazhakkai podimas being an exception. We usually add a souring agent like tamarind / lemon juice and jaggery as well in this preparation. It makes a good accompaniment to any south Indian meal.

Some other plantain preparations that I have posted here.

Plantain fry

Aava pettina aratikaaya koora (Plantain cooked in mustard base)

Vazhakkai podimas

Ingredients:
2 plantains (About 2 cups peeled and cubed)
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. skinned black gram / urad dal
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 / 2 green chilies or 2 / 3 dried red chilies, broken into bits
A sprig of curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida
Salt to taste
1/4 cup shredded fresh / frozen coconut 

Directions:

* Peel and cube the plantains. Pressure cook plantain cubes along with enough water and turmeric without turning them into a mush.  

(One or two whistles depending upon the cooker.) Or the plantain cubes can be cooked with enough water on stove-top in a pan or in a microwave just until fork tender but not mushy. Drain all the water used to cook the plantains.

* Heat oil in a kadai / pan and add black gram and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to splutter, add chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. 

* Stir them and add the plantain cubes, salt and coconut and mix them well. (Thaw if using frozen coconut before adding to the curry.) Let them cook on low flame for a couple of minutes and turn off the stove.

* Serve the curry with rice, drizzling a little ghee over it.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon with the theme 'Dry Side Dishes'. Check the link to find out what other marathoners are cooking.

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A 'Simple' Tamil Nadu Thaali

As I mentioned in my yesterday's post, it is time for mega marathon this month with the theme of Indian thaalis and platters. I reserved this week for everyday style mini thaalis. I chose to go with the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu for today's mini meal platter aka saapadu. It is a simple, traditional style, vegetarian meal platter. A typical Tamil Nadu or for that matter, any south Indian style lunch menu revolves around rice and is always a balanced meal of carbs, proteins and vegetables. Each side dish is eaten in a specific order, mixed with a small portion of rice and drizzled with ghee. A vegetable preparation is eaten as a side dish while rice is eaten first with a lentil and vegetable based gravy, followed by a thin, spicy broth called rasam and the meal is rounded off with a serving of yogurt and rice or buttermilk. There would be a pickle or an instant chutney or a spicy powder (podi) to perk up the meal. It may be a chutney / thogayal prepared that day with a vegetable or lentil base or a pickle / oorkaai scooped out from a jar, that was made and preserved during summer months for the year long usage. And then there may be some fried popadums / sun dried fritters that every one enjoys but are optional for everyday meals. Ghee, salt and water are of course part of the meal. Sweets and snacks are usually reserved for special occasions at homes. One can even add a banana to the thaali if it is not an every day meal.

Though people still practice this regimen, one cannot forget that the word 'traditional' is the keyword here. People in the modern day hustle bustle may not have enough time to cook all the side dishes and may opt for one or two side dishes or sometimes even just a wholesome, one pot meal. Now let's come back to our traditional style meal. The vegetable preparation typically can be a dry saute called poriyal or a fry that is common across the south Indian states. Or preparations with regional touches or those ones unique to the state. The tamarind based lentil / gravy preparations typically fall under sambhar, kuzhambu, kootu, paruppu varieties. The food never gets boring taking into consideration how a typical housewife injects variety into everyday cooking rotating the recipes from repertoire.

This was one of those meals I wished I could serve on a plantain leaf but had to manage with my steel plate which is what typically used back home to eat everyday meals (at least these past few decades.) No cutlery is used in the traditional style of eating. And also the side dishes are not served in cups either since each item is individually eaten. For example rice and sambhar is mixed in a plate using the tips of the right hand fingers, scooped up and eaten. There may be a small serving of some chutney, curry or a papad on the side. Once the sambhar - rice is finished, rice and rasam are again added to the plate and so on.

We almost always have a chutney / pickle, curry, sambhar, rasam, yogurt to go with our rice. I therefore included those varieties in the meal and had kootu as an extra as it is a personal favorite and usually part of a traditional spread . Hop over here for the recipe of cucumber kootu.  I had a sago kheer prepared for neivedyam that day and so it went into the platter as well. This is a Tamil Brahmin aka tambram style mini thaali without the usage of onion and garlic. My lunch platter had the following items along with rice. (Usually we would place the pickle next to curry, I realized later.)

Avakkai - Mango pickle in powdered mustard base
Appalam - Papad (Microwaved)
Vazhakkai poriyal - Plantain curry with addition of coconut and simple seasoning 
Varutharacha kuzhambu - Mixed vegetable gravy
Vellerikka kootu - Cucumber and moongdal stew
Rasam - Lentil and tomato broth
Thayir - Yogurt
Javvarisi payasam - Sago kheer / Tapioca pearl pudding

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