Vangi Bhaat - (Spicy Eggplant Rice) in a Jiffy

This is my quick version of Vangi Bhaat. Now, this is a dish I had never eaten in India and I am not very sure what the authentic version tastes like. However, I can state that the substitute presented here is definitely very tasty and a quick preparation too. The way this recipe was cooked up was that I had bought an eggplant and was finding it difficult to decide on a preparation method. Finally, my husband suggested Vangi bhaath. He has eaten the authentic version of vangi bhaat, but he was not sure of how its prepared and wasn't much help when it came to the recipe. So, of course I turned to the internet. All the recipes I found had instructions to make the required masala from the basic ingredients. Well, it was nearing lunch time and I had nothing to show for my efforts so far, so I decided to wing it. And we were both very happy with the end result.

Definitely a good recipe to have up your sleeve when you need to prepare a meal in a jiffy.

Ingredients

1 Large eggplant/ 4-5 small eggplants - sliced into strips.
1/8 tsp mustard
1/8 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1/2 tsp split urad daal (peeled)
pinch of asafoetida
couple of pinches of turmeric powder
1 tbsp oil
green chillies to taste - chopped
5-6 curry leaves
1 tsp sambar masala
1 tsp rasam masala
1/2 tsp tamarind paste (can be varied to taste)
salt to taste
2 cups cooked rice

Method
Heat the oil. To this add the mustard and cumin seeds. Once they being to crackle, add the hing/asafoetida, urad daal and curry leaves. Add the turmeric powder and then the eggplant strips. Add a little salt at this time. It will help with the cooking process. Once the eggplant is cooked and softened, add the masalas and tamarind paste. Cook for a couple of minutes. Finally add the rice and mix it well with the cooked eggplant mixture. Adjust the seasoning. Serve hot along with some yogurt.

Tips
It doesn't really matter what kind of eggplant you use for this recipe. Also, you can cut it into cubes instead of strips, but it will take longer for the cubes to cook. I used readymade store bought masalas. You can increase the masala proportions to make it spicier.