Vegetable Brinji Rice
Servings: 4 people
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Enjoy the flavors of Tamil Nadu with the Brinji Rice or Brinji Sadam. A flavorful one-pot vegetable rice prepared with coconut milk and topped with bread croutons.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Basmati rice
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1" piece of cinnamon
- 2 cloves
- 1 piece of mace
- 1 star anise
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
- 3/4 cup sliced onions
- 2 green chillies
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 large tomato finely chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped green coriander leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
- 2 cups chopped vegetables (carrots, beans, potatoes, cauliflower, and peas)
- 1 cup thick coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp ghee
For the croutons
- 4 slices of bread
- Oil for shallow frying
Instructions
- To begin, wash the basmati rice well in water and soak it for 30 minutes.
- To prepare the rice, heat oil in a pan. Add in the whole spices – bay leaf, green cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves, mace, star anise, and fennel seeds. Mix.
- Next, add the sliced onions with slit green chillies. Saute for a minute.
- Add the ginger garlic paste and saute until the onions are translucent.
- Add the tomatoes and saute until they are a bit tender.
- Next, add the chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves along with the dry masalas – salt, turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, and garam masala powder. Saute until the liquid dries up and oil begins to appear on the sides.
- Add in the vegetables and saute for a few minutes.
- Add the drained rice and mix well.
- Next, add the coconut milk with water. Mix well. Cover with a lid and cook until the rice is done. Or pressure cook it for two whistles like I have and allow the pressure to drop.
- In the meantime, prepare the bread croutons. Dice the bread slices into small squares. Shallow fry until golden. Keep aside.
- Once the rice is done, add a tbsp of ghee. Mix well.
- Finally, add in the croutons and mix.
- The Brinji Rice is ready to serve. Garnish with coriander and mint leaves. Serve hot.
Notes
- Experiment with seasonal vegetables of your choice
- You can use 2 cups of thin coconut milk instead too.
- My kitchen is a nut-free kitchen. Use cashewnuts in garnish for added texture and richness.
Video
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This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.
Samata
June 29, 2024 @ 10:40 pm
A new style of basmati rice preparation. The ingredients are somethings that we will have commonly in every Indian kitchen. Use of the breads in Rice is something new I found and liked it too. Thanks mam for this new rice recipe… Loving it.
Harjeet Kaur
June 30, 2024 @ 12:05 pm
Such a simple but different recipe, Madhuji. Hats off to you for trying out dishes from different states. Admire your zeal and enthusiasm. I think I am losing it somehow. I would love the crunchy croutons in the rice.
ambica gulati
July 2, 2024 @ 7:25 am
I don’t think I have had rice with coconut milk ever. I like coconut milk curries a lot, so am certainly adding this recipe to my wish list.
Ratna
July 3, 2024 @ 9:22 am
This is something I will definitely try! I’ve never known the right way of adding coconut milk to any kind of mixed rice dishes. Thanks for your tip!
Kaveri Chhetri
July 4, 2024 @ 7:01 pm
I have had something similar or maybe the same dish but that was a long time ago n I don’t remember the taste and i also don’t know what went into making it. I love the flavour of coconut milk and I m sure I will love this recipe and it will be a good item for my kids’ lunch boxes too. Thank you for sharing it Madhu Ma’am.
Meetali Kutty
July 4, 2024 @ 11:48 am
This Vegetable Brinji Rice recipe looks absolutely delicious! I love the combination of flavours and the detailed step-by-step instructions. Can’t wait to try it out
Varsh
July 4, 2024 @ 12:12 pm
Wow, Brinji rice looks yum and the recipe sounds elaborate but manageable. The coconut milk will add a lovely flavour to it. Will try this over the weekend. What does it pair well with?
Chandrika R Krishnan
July 4, 2024 @ 5:14 pm
Sounds yummy and am sure tastes too.
Jeannine
July 4, 2024 @ 8:53 pm
Oh yum!!!! This is one recipe I’m totally keeping! Since we lived in Singapore until we moved back, I’ve come to learn loving this kind of rice! If there’s something I miss about Singapore, it must be the vast choices of food you can find in a hawker!!!
Docdivatraveller
July 4, 2024 @ 11:09 pm
This looks so delicious! I am always on the hunt for innovative vegetarian dishes for my shudh shakahari family.
Neeta Kadam
July 5, 2024 @ 12:33 am
Crunchy crouton in rice is something new in this dish and using Coconut milk. Generally in konkan coconut milk is common in any rice and non veg dish. This is totally new for me and I am curious to Cook.
Caroline
July 5, 2024 @ 9:18 am
This sounds delicious and a must try. The ingredients are simple too. Thanks for sharing.
Pamela Mukherjee
July 5, 2024 @ 2:15 pm
This is something I wanted to prepare for a long. A good healthy version of veg biriyani. Thanks for such lovely recipe aunty.
Manali
July 5, 2024 @ 2:49 pm
What a unique and interesting recipe this is aunty. Definitely trying it out because it has all the ingredients I really enjoy in my favorite dishes
Out of curiosity though, why is your kitchen nut-free? Allergies or any other reason?
Janaki
July 5, 2024 @ 5:45 pm
Very common in south India. My family loves it. Thanks for sharing aunty.
Ritu Bindra
July 5, 2024 @ 7:46 pm
Sooo good. I love the crunch of the croutons. And so versatile too. We need to make this again soon. 😀
Madhu
July 28, 2024 @ 12:23 pm
Thank you so much Beta 😊
Felicia
July 5, 2024 @ 10:49 pm
I am putting this on my list of must-try dishes. This seems like a perfect meal recipe I can carry for my lunch at work.
Madhu
July 28, 2024 @ 12:39 pm
Thank you so much. Do try it out 😊
Aditi Kapur
July 6, 2024 @ 12:02 am
I love rice recipes. This one is unique for me because of coconut milk.
(I’ve never used coconut milk in my recipes)
Thanks for this wonderful new idea:).
Madhu
July 28, 2024 @ 12:38 pm
Thank you so much 😊
Isheeria
July 15, 2024 @ 3:53 am
I LOVE the idea of adding coconut milk to my vegetable rice – I have never tried this before, i am going to try this out. its a nice option to our usual rice dish too.
Madhu
July 28, 2024 @ 1:23 pm
Thank you so much. Do try it out 😊
Shifali
August 30, 2024 @ 8:31 pm
I love most of your recipes and this one too. I like the addition of coconut milk and bread croutons. It adds to the flavour. I will try this recipe soon.
Madhu
September 16, 2024 @ 3:44 pm
Thank you so much. Do try it out 😊
Noor Anand Chawla
September 4, 2024 @ 5:52 pm
I wasn’t familiar with this dish but it sounds delicious, especially with the addition of the coconut milk!
Madhu
September 16, 2024 @ 3:37 pm
Thank you so much Noor