Revisited: Vangi Bhath


Vangi Bhath

As good today, as it was 4 years ago when I first posted it.


44 comments:

Reena said...

manisha, 4 years blogging!! wow!! happy anniversary.

Reena

http://spicesofkerala.wordpress.com

musical said...

Manisha, that picture looks gorgeous. I always thought Vangi baath/bhath is more a part of Karnataka cuisine.

"Still as good"

and it will be.....forever :)

Wish you many more years of delightful and delicious blogging.

Padmaja said...

Hi Manisha!!!
Vaangi bhaat, nothing can beat that taste can it???
i love to have it anytime!!
u'r version looks amazing

indosungod said...

Happy 4th Anniversay! What are those pink pear shaped delicacies?(wanted to use the word thingies but decided against it)

Unknown said...

Happy 4th Anniversary! BTW has your main wrapper shrunk - or is it a problem with my browser?

Vangi baath is so heard of, but have never tried it because of my tiff (allergy) with brinjals...somehow i can tolerate roasted brinjals well. I do want to gingerly try this out if it suits me! Lemme dig out from your archives.

Anonymous said...

4 Years!! You have been blogging for 4 years??? Damn, you are old, girl...

:D Looking forward to many more years, Manisha.

Indian Food Rocks said...

Hey! thanks everyone! Although Reena, this was not meant to be an anniversary post. I was just trying to be my sneaky self and get a picture in for a 4 year old post. I was also checking out my own recipe to see if I would do anything different, given the several new influences in my cooking!

But! Any reason to celebrate so let's pop the virtual champagne and have a blast!

So yes, it's been 4 years but I haven't been even a teeny bit as prolific as all you folks who have started blogging in the past several years. So I raise a toast to you all instead!

Musical, my parents grew up in Belgaum, which straddles Karnataka and Maharashtra - I say straddles because there used to be a border dispute and I am not sure it has been resolved. So I always thought this was part of our cuisine. But if Belgaum is Maharashtra's then so is Vangi Bhath! (Here come the fundamentalists now...) ;-)

Paddukoti, I used my cousin's secret homemade garam masala as I was out of goda masala. And yes, it was very good, indeed!

ISG, you said thingees - it's there in black on white! BTW, why do they in black and white? Those pink pear shaped delicacies are pickled pearl onions. I had a bunch and I planned to use them in sambar. Sambar never happened and the pearl onions started looking sad. So I pickled them in vinegar and salt. They are quite yummy but were quite a pain to peel!

Nandita, I didn't make any changes to the template. :-( So it stinks if the wrapper appears to have shrunk! if you haven't already please switch to Firefox. I used to get an itchy tongue after eating brinjals in India. Somehow it doesn't happen anymore. The only thing I did different was add more peppercorn but that is only because we like to crunch down on them.

Vee, aye! These aching bones tell many a story! And these fading eyes have seen many a tale!

Old. Yes. But, not older because of the superlatives for old: old, older, oldest which means that old is younger than older. (Ouch! I already feel the brickbats!)

Anita said...

There she goes again...
Yes, older is older than old...but who is old?? You are young and I am just older...not old. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Seems to me,older signifies other things like 'older and wiser'. No, Manisha, you are definitely not there yet.. :evil:

See, if this were wordpress, that would change into a nice graphic.

Indian Food Rocks said...

Just teasing! I don't feel any different from when I was much younger though. The mirror tells me another story but who cares? Other people have to suffer through what I look like. Not me! :-D

Indian Food Rocks said...

Along comes Vee to burst my bubble!

Wordpress - maybe in time for CSS reboot. Which is less than a month away! I won't do free hosting though.

archana said...

Happy blog anniversary Manisha :)Vangi Bhath and dahi raita lovely one meal dish :)

musical said...

Hey Manisha, didn't mean to invoke regional issues :). Its Indian food, so its mine too :). i just was curious because except at one friend's home (who is Marathi, but was brought up in Raichur), i haven't had this as a part of Maharshtrian food. But then, how does it matter-its delicious, we all like it.....its Indian food-it rocks!

Pelicano said...

Manisha-
I've read in a few places that the dish is Marathi, and, as the Marathi kingdom at one time ruled over an extensive area of present-day India, including part of what is now Karnataka, I'd imagine there would be variations of this dish in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Orissa, as well as Karnataka...the signature ingredients being brinjals, rice and a souring agent...the spicing would change. It'd be interesting to research to find out...did I mention to you the pink version with beets that I gave to Shilpa that she posted?

Anonymous said...

I am surprised you don't already have your own domain. Whats it gonna be? ManishaRocks.com??
And somebody please acknowledge pel's pink bhath before I see him repeat that in another blog's comment section ;)

Deepz said...

Happy 4th yr anniversary manisha. I am yet to reply to ure mail, will definitely do so today.

bee said...

8 tbsps. oil? but it doesn't look greasy at all.

Pelicano said...

Vee! You DO care...[swoons] :-D

Anonymous said...

[THUD] See, now your floor is all red. So much for pink...

Indian Food Rocks said...

Archana, welcome and thank you! I'm guessing you're the other Archana who became famous because of infamous. ;-)

Musical, this kind of regional is good. It's nice to understand the history of food. Since both sides of my family make Vangi Bhath, I have always assumed that it is Maharashtrian. We make more of vangi bhath than we do masale bhath.

Whatever history I missed out on by not studying in India, I get to learn from Pel. The Maratha Kingdom did rule a large part of India, including the central part of Karnataka.

Pink Rice with Beets? Doesn't figure in Shilpa list of Rice dishes. I do see her Vangi Bhath recipe though. Whatever. Well, I am sure it's the best pink bhath ever and if Shilpa made it, it has tohave been delicious.

Ah!, Vee, but I do so have my own domain. I've had my domain for longer than I've had this blog - at least that's what the dates say to me. I didn't remember which came first! ManishaRocks.com is so not me. It's far more obvious: indianfoodrocks.com - I did mention I was lazy, right? Does this prove just how lazy? 8-) (that means user wears sunglasses and is therefore cool!)

Deepz, newlyweds have better things to do than reply to email ;-) No worries!

Bee, it is a greasier than most of my pulaos. But you need the oil to coat the eggplant pieces as well as the potatoes so that they hold their own and don't become mushy. It also helps the rice grains remain separate instead of becoming clumps.

Indian Food Rocks said...

As long as it is Pel's floor, go color it whatever your mind desires! Steer clear of orange - he likes it a lot!

Pelicano said...

[awakens slowly from knocking himself unconcious, blood trickles down his forehead] bring me water...water...no, bring me gulabi pulao!!!

Indian Food Rocks said...

OMG! There it is! I didn't even think to look for anything besides pink and beets!

Blood and gulabi pulao. :-&
(that means user is tongue-tied)

musical said...

Dear Manisha,

thanks, you conveyed so smoothly what i meant to say :)

Pelicano said...

Odd how that completed a circle...good work Vee...[perplexed]

Gini said...

Yours was the first Indian cooking blog I read, the jeera chicken post or the one about you packing food in the water cooler...one of them were the first I read.
For some unknown reason, the image of vangi bhath has been coming into my head. I have never tasted this.

Anonymous said...

She is at it again. Not satisfied with the kurmure panic and the overdue dvd, she is now throwing wild parties at her blog. Such parties contain everything from regional border disputes to swooning to even a split forehead turning some white rice to bright pink. There have been rumors of a lychee martinis doing the rounds but we have yet to confirm it. Oh wait, this just in. Apparently, the red liquid involved was from the crushed beets that the injured was holding at the time of the fall.No bloodshed involved. When asked the neighbors had this to say. "It's noisy but no one knows how to bhath a vangi like she does!" And with that it seems, once more she has escaped the axe.And that, my friends, is called a complete circle.
Back to you, Mark.

Anjali Koli said...

Manisha you are a veteran! Congrats for the 4th.

Pelicano said...

Mark: She sure does know how to keep the media entertained! Nice coverage Kay.[raps a stack of papers on the news desk and turns to the TV audience]Tonight and tomorrow, partly cloudy with winds from the northwest at 20 mph, slight chance of precipitation, low tonight of 29, climbing to a high of 49 tomorrow. Thursday and Friday, the outlook turns a bit dreary with an 80% chance of snow mixed with rain, high of 41 and low of 32 Thursday night, high of 34 for Friday. For the weekend, expect clear, sunny skies...

archana said...

Hi Manisha,
I am Archana from luv2eathate2cook.wordpress.com.
You replied to my comment saying famous, infamous.I could not catch on to your joke :) Please clarify :)

indosungod said...

Manisha I am itching to comment but looks like you have turned off commenting for your newest post

Indian Food Rocks said...

And with that weather forecast, Pel, aajchya baatmya samplya!

Musical, halo and crown have found a new head to rest on. Vee's!<hands over crown and yanks off reluctant halo and passes it to Vee>

Gini, you're the sweetest! Did you see the vangi bhath on my Flickr photostream? Maybe that's why?

I use that cooler trick all the time. The last time we went up to Estes Park, I had frozen milk in the cooler and I carried veggies, meatballs, cheese, bread, etc without having to worry about everything getting soggy!


Anjali, thank you! At least you didn't call me old unlike some other people...

Archana, big welcome to you again! I had you confused with another Archana who made the slip of the keyboard. You are the third blogging Archana I know! Consider making your profile public so that we can figure out which Archana you are. Hope you're enjoying Pune! I heard it was over 40C recently.

ISG, this Blogger does it to me from time to time. I've turned it on - I hope you didn't hurt yourself in the interim! %-6 (means I am brain-dead). Well, go on then...let's have it!

archana said...

Thanks for giving me a big welcome again .
Your suggestion of making a Blogger profile,I may consider .
Even I have a suggestion for you,Manisha that you should confirm the identity of the person before giving a taunting comment .
Obviously the reply you gave to my comment was not a compliment and neither was it a joke.I did feel hurt.
The word Infamous you used speaks for itself .
Anyway I like to make things clear rather than sit and brood over it.
I have no personal grudge against you.I dont even know you .
Infact I like to visit your blog,I like your style of writing too. Pune is hot :)Thanks for clarifying the matter :)

Indian Food Rocks said...

Archana, true very true. However, if you notice the mood of the comments, taunting is the last word that comes to mind. However, the written word can be taken in several ways. So my apologies if it came across that way to you. Taunt is something I don't do. Flippant, yes! We're having fun here but not ridiculing anyone.

archana said...

Its Ok Manisha,I got your point of view.
That one word did cause misunderstanding .
Even I believe that we are here for fun and not ridiculing anyone .

Indian Food Rocks said...

Good! We're all friends again!

FWIW, no-one was being called infamous or was ever labeled infamous either here or anywhere else - Archana (the other other one) made a slip of the keyboard and used infamous instead of famous but we all knew what she really meant! We tend to carry conversations across blogs and this was one of them.

It's good to lighten up. We can all have a good time, then!

archana said...

Thanks Manisha,for clarifying the misunderstanding :) Also thanks for visiting my blog :)
We were friends and will always be friends :)

Indian Food Rocks said...

Archana, since you love to eat but hate to cook, you should explore the food scene in Pune and do a series of posts on that. I remember Vaishali and Marzorin, and I also remember a kabab-bbq place called Boravke or something similar. I don't know if it still exists. My b-i-l would take us there whenever we visited them in Pune. Check out HKG's blog, too, as he does a great job in both Pune and Bombay.

archana said...

I really hate to cook,and ready made food (tasty) is always welcome :)
Oh Vaishali at Fergusson Road.That place I am not going to miss .
Marzorin sandwiches with chutney in it yum :b....
I am a veg so total non veg joints are no no for me:) But I have heard of Boravke becoz my s-i-l got chicken from there.
Thats a good idea of giving a post on the eating joints in Pune too and plus Mumbai.
My weight has increased in the past few days after eating the junk food :)
I will surely check out HKG's blog :)

Gini said...

I can't resist any more. I am making it tonight. What is on top of the yogurt?

Indian Food Rocks said...

Archana, so Boravke's is still there! Wow! I'll look forward to your posts! I keep making mental notes of where I am going to go on my next visit. I need to lose a lot of weight before I do that, though!

Gini, just some chilli powder and cumin powder. I'd already mixed some salt into it. Get hold of Bedekar's goda masala if possible. Otherwise, use a fragrant garam masala. Also, the thinner you cut the potatoes, the quicker they cook. I have a problem at this altitude that the rice gets cooked before the potatoes do. Let me know!

Gini said...

I just came back from the grocery store. Couldn't find goda masala, so I am going to use the rest of the ingredients. I saw a vanghi bhath masala, but didn't seem authentic enough. It didn't have any coconut, so skipped that. Entering kitchen armed with yr recipe....

Gini said...

I made this last night. It was really tasty and although I couldn't get goda masala, I made it using garam masala. We both really liked it, and even took it to work for lunch. Thanks for the great and simple recipe. Brinjals and potatoes were cooked to perfection, as was the rice. Mine was kinda brown, and not yellow as the one in the picture. I think it was because I didn't use a non-stick and the onions and potatoes made a brown crust at the bottom. We have found a new great recipe...

One question, is this an everyday meal or special occasion meal?

Indian Food Rocks said...

Gini, I am so glad you liked it! Over the years I have moved away from non-stick cookware and cook mainly in copper-bottom stainless steel kadhais especially when it comes to pulaos. There is a little bit of browning at the bottom but, for me, it was mainly rice. And even though it is really oily, we all fight for a piece of it!

In our family, this was not made on any special occasion or festival. But it's not an everyday meal either. It was a once-in-a-while 'treat', which I did not particularly enjoy when I was a child. I really think I am blessed to have a child who does enjoy all these flavors!