Homemade vangi bath masala powder step-by-step recipe with video and photos.
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What is vangi bath
Vangi bath is a rice-based dish that originates from Karnataka. It literally translates to eggplant rice. Vangi means eggplant or brinjal and bath means a rice-based dish. Vangi bath is made with eggplants (or brinjal), rice, and a spice blend called vangi bath masala powder. This dish is usually made very spicy and is served with either raita or plain yogurt.
Vangi bath is very easy to put together and can be made with leftover rice. If you have vangi bath masala powder ready, this dish is ready in less than 20 minutes.
About homemade vangi bath masala powder
Vangi bath masala powder is a flavourful spice blend used to make vangi bath. It can also be added to upma to make khara bath. The process of making vangi bath masala powder is very simple - dry roasting the spices and grinding it to a slightly coarse powder. The texture of this masala powder is important - it should not be ground too fine and should be kept slightly coarse.
Vangi bath masala powder is easily available in stores but making it at home is really simple. Make and store this masala powder for the best-tasting vangi bath or khara bath. This powder can also be used in eggplant-based curries too. Not just with eggplant, you can use this spice blend to make other rice-based dishes too, for example, capsicum, green peas, etc.
Ingredients
Coriander seeds: This is the main spice used in rasam powder. Coriander seeds are the dried fruit of the coriander plant.
Chana dal: Although chana dal or split Bengal gram is a lentil, it is used in several spice mixes in south India. It is closely related to the chickpea family and is used in making tempering for various south Indian dishes.
Urad dal: Urad dal or black gram is also used in south Indian spice blends, despite being a lentil. It is used alongside chana dal for making temperings for various south Indian dishes.
Dried red chilli: Dried red chilli are ripe chillies that are sun-dried and stored. Usually, in my spice blends, I use two varieties of dried red chilli – one mild which adds a bright red colour (either Byadagi chilli or Kashmiri chilli) and the other hot chilli (Guntur chilli). Both these chillies are named after the places they are grown in.
Curry leaves: Curry leaves are an aromatic herb that is an essential part of south Indian dishes and is added in temperings. They are dry-roasted and used in spice blends.
Coconut: Coconut is an integral part of any south Indian kitchen and both fresh and dried forms are used extensively. Dried coconut is added along with spice blends which adds a nice nutty flavour to the dish it is being used in.
Poppy seeds: Poppy seeds are used as a spice and also in some desserts. They are soaked and ground into a paste and added to the masala base of several dishes to give it thickness and texture.
Marathi Moggu: Marathi moggu, also known as kapok buds, is best described as an Indian caper. It is the dried buds of the kapok tree or silk cotton tree. ‘Moggu’ directly translates to buds in Kannada.
Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner part of the tree Cinnamomum. It has a mildly sweet taste and so is used in several desserts and also used to flavour teas too.
Cloves: Cloves are aromatic dried flower buds of the clove tree. They have a strong aroma and are used mostly to provide warmth to the dish.
Cardamom: Cardamom is an exotic spice that belongs to the ginger family. There are two main varieties of cardamom – green and black. Green cardamom (also called true cardamom) is more commonly used and originates from the western ghats in southern India. Black cardamom is less commonly used and originates from the Himalayan region.
Star anise: Star anise is a spice used in many spice mixes despite its mildly sweet taste. It originates from China and gets its name due to the star-shaped pods.
Step by step instructions
Dry roast chana dal until they are lightly golden. Set aside (step 1).
Dry roast urad dal until they are lightly golden. Set aside (step 2).
Dry roast both Byadagi and Guntur chilli until they are crispy. Set aside (step 3).
Dry roast coriander seeds until they are aromatic. Set aside (step 4).
Dry-roast curry leaves until they are dried and crispy. Set aside (step 5).
Dry-roast cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and Marathi moggu until they are aromatic (step 6).
To this, add poppy seeds and dry roast until they begin to pop (step 7).
Add the ]the coconut and dry roast for a few seconds (step 8).
Let all the ingredients cool down completely (step 9).
Transfer to a spice grinder or mixie (step 10). Grind into a slightly coarse powder (step 11).
This recipe gives approximately 190 grams of vangi bath masala powder.
Recipes to try
Just like rasam powder, vangi bath masala powder can also be used in stir-fries. Add this to upma to make a delicious Khara bath. Here are some recipes you can add vangi bath masala powder to.
Storing vangi bath masala powder
Homemade vangi bath masala powder stays fresh when stored in an air-tight container in a refrigerator. In fact, I prefer to store all my spice blends either in the refrigerator or the freezer as they stay fresh for longer. They can be used straight from both the fridge and the freezer. This recipe here gives me approximately 190 grams of vangi bath masala powder. You may choose to half or double the recipe as per your need.
Recipe tips
Do all the dry-roasting on low flame. Heat the frying pan initially and then turn the flame to low before you start dry-roasting.
It is important to dry-roast the chana dal and urad dal well, taking care it does not burn. Both the dal have to be roasted until they are lightly golden. This is the most time-consuming part of roasting. The rest of the ingredients will be done very quickly.
Grind the vangi bath masala powder slightly coarse and not into a fine powder.
Vangi bath masala powder stays fresh when stored in an air-tight container in a refrigerator. In fact, I prefer to store all my spice blends in either the refrigerator or the freezer as they stay fresh for longer. They can be used straight from both the fridge and the freezer.
This recipe here gives me approximately 190 grams of sambar powder. You may choose to half or double the recipe as per your need.
Dry coconut tends to burn very quickly so dry-roast it with the flame turned off. It only needs to be heated up for a few seconds before grinding.
Click here for more spice blend recipes.
Bonus
This spice blend is:
– very easy to make
– can be made in a large batch and stored in the freezer
– can be used directly from the freezer or refrigerator without any thawing
– versatile and can be used in stir-fries to make them more flavourful
Recipe card
Vangi Bath Masala Powder
Ingredients
- ¼ cup coriander seeds
- ¼ cup split Bengal gram (chana dal)
- ¼ cup split black gram (urad dal)
- 4 cardamom
- 10-12 teaspoon cloves
- 4 2-inch piece cinnamon
- 2 star anise
- 4 marathi moggu (kapok buds)
- 2 tablespoon poppy seeds
- ½ cup coconut (dried or desiccated)
- 12-15 curry leaves
- 12-15 Byadagi chilli (mild) - can be replaced with Kashmiri red chilli
- 4-5 Guntur chilli (hot) - can be replaced with any hot dry red chilli
Instructions
- Heat a frying pan and turn the flame to low
- Dry-roast chana dal until they are lightly golden. Set aside
- Dry-roast urad dal until they are lightly golden. Set aside
- Dry-roast coriander seeds until they are aromatic. Set aside
- Dry-roast both Byadagi and Guntur chilli until they are crispy. Set aside
- Dry-roast curry leaves until they are dried and crispy. Set aside
- Dry-roast cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and Marathi moggu until they are aromatic
- To this, add poppy seeds and dry-roast until they begin to pop
- Turn off the flame. Dry-roast the coconut for a few seconds. Set aside. Coconut can burn very easily so take care to dry-roast with the gas turned off
- Let all the ingredients cool down completely
- Grind into a slightly coarse powder using a spice grinder or mixie
- Store in a dry and clean air-tight container
Video
Notes
- Vangi bath masala powder stays fresh when stored in an air-tight container in a refrigerator. In fact, I prefer to store all my spice blends in either the refrigerator or the freezer as they stay fresh for longer. They can be used straight from both the fridge and the freezer
- This recipe here gives me 190 grams of bisi bele bath masala powder. You may choose to half or double the recipe as per your need.
- Do all the dry-roasting on low flame. Heat the frying pan initially and then turn the flame to low before you start dry-roasting
- Coconut tends to burn very quickly so dry-roast it with the flame turned off. If only needs to be heated up for a few seconds before grinding
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