Tamilnadu Brinji Recipe

Brinji is a flavorful vegetable rice made with coconut and coconut milk. Chef Ramakrishnan in his book says “The word Brinji means nothing in Tamil, always a reasonable indicator that the recipe is a borrowed one. In central Asia, especially in Iran (Persia), polished white rice is still called berenj. Persians excelled in cooking rice. It is likely that this polished white rice cooked with mild spices by Arab traders, caught the fancy of Tamil nation and came to be called Berenji or Brinji. Flavoured Rice boiled in milk is still called Sheer Berenji (Milk Rice). It is possible that flavoured rice boiled in water might have been called just Berenji. The brinji is much older than Biriyani/ Pulao/ Tahiri, which are relatively new entrants to Tamil cuisine. Being older, the brinji has internalized south Indian ingredients like coconut and pepper. I’d think the Brinji is the earliest version of Biriyani/ pulav cooked in Tamilnadu. 50 years back no one knew biriyani or pulav in Tamilnadu. All they knew was Brinji. The Tamil name for bay leaves – Brinji elai ( Brinji Leaf) come from the fact they were invariably used in a brinji! Down south, in places like Madurai, the heart of Tamil culture, Brinji is still more famous than the Biriyani/ Pulao.”

This is an OPOS – One Pot One Shot recipe. We are not going to saute or fry anything in this recipe. We will layer the ingredients in a cooker and cook. Do not scale the recipe up or down. Use exact measurements and equipment. If using induction stove (recommended), cook the brinji at 800W for 15 minutes or 2 whistles whichever is earlier. If using gas stove, cook on medium heat for 2 whistles. Many people ask me if things will be raw after cooked as we are not sauteing anything. My answer is no. It will be perfectly cooked. Just try it once. I am sure you will like it.

Here is how to do brinji. Mix all the ingredients listed under marination in a big bowl and set it aside to marinate for one hour at room temperature. During the same time, soak basmati rice in water and let it soak for one hour too! After one hour, the veggie mixture will be slightly liquidy. You are on the right track. Drain the soaked rice and set aside.

The layering process and cooking has been described in the video. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients for marination

• 1/2 cup peas, chopped
• 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup potatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1/2 cup coconut paste ( 1/4 cup coconut ground with 1/4 cup water to a fine paste)
• 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste ( 6 cloves garlic and 1 inch piece ginger ground with little water)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Rice

• 1 Cup ( 250 ml) basmati rice

For final layering

• 2 teaspoon ghee
• 3 bay leaves, crushed
• 2 medium sized onion, chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1/3 cup light coconut milk
• 2/3 cup water

1. Place all the ingredients listed under marination in a wide bowl. Mix well to combine. Marinate for one hour.
2. Wash and soak the basmati rice in water for one hour.
3. Take a 3 liter pressure cooker and add in the ghee. Top it with chopped onions and tomato.
4. Add in half the quantity of marinated veggies along with its juices.
5. Drain the basmati rice and add it on top of the veggies to form an even layer.
6. Add in the remaining veggies.
7. If using induction stove (recommended), cook the brinji at 800W for 15 minutes or 2 whistles whichever is earlier.
8. If using gas stove, cook on medium heat for 2 whistles.
9. Switch of the flame and remove from heat.
10. Let the pressure release naturally. Wait for 20 minutes.
11. Open the pan and fluff up the rice. Enjoy!

Notes

If using ready made ginger garlic paste, use just 2 teaspoon as its concentrated. When layering, make sure the veggies totally cover the rice layer.

The term OPOS and One Pot One Shot are registered trademarks owned by Mr.Ramakrishnan. The recipes have been adapted using his OPOS principle. They are used in Kannamma Cooks with prior permission.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Category: Main Dish
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Ingredients for marination

• 1/2 cup peas, chopped
• 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup potatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1/2 cup coconut paste ( 1/4 cup coconut ground with 1/4 cup water to a fine paste)
• 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste ( 6 cloves garlic and 1 inch piece ginger ground with little water)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Rice

• 1 Cup ( 250 ml) basmati rice

For final layering

• 2 teaspoon ghee
• 3 bay leaves, crushed
• 2 medium sized onion, chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1/3 cup light coconut milk
• 2/3 cup water

1. Place all the ingredients listed under marination in a wide bowl. Mix well to combine. Marinate for one hour.
2. Wash and soak the basmati rice in water for one hour.
3. Take a 3 liter pressure cooker and add in the ghee. Top it with chopped onions and tomato.
4. Add in half the quantity of marinated veggies along with its juices.
5. Drain the basmati rice and add it on top of the veggies to form an even layer.
6. Add in the remaining veggies.
7. If using induction stove (recommended), cook the brinji at 800W for 15 minutes or 2 whistles whichever is earlier.
8. If using gas stove, cook on medium heat for 2 whistles.
9. Switch of the flame and remove from heat.
10. Let the pressure release naturally. Wait for 20 minutes.
11. Open the pan and fluff up the rice. Enjoy!

Notes

If using ready made ginger garlic paste, use just 2 teaspoon as its concentrated. When layering, make sure the veggies totally cover the rice layer.

The term OPOS and One Pot One Shot are registered trademarks owned by Mr.Ramakrishnan. The recipes have been adapted using his OPOS principle. They are used in Kannamma Cooks with prior permission.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Category: Main Dish
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/brinji-rice-tamilnadu-brinji-sadam-coconut/

Here is how to do home made murugal dosa batter recipe. Usually, I just use my idli batter recipe for making dosa. But if you are looking for making a really crispy dosa, then this is the recipe you need to be making. It is an extremely easy recipe and comes out good every single time. Hope you enjoy our video instructions!

The recipe is very similar to the idli batter recipe but the easiest. All the ingredients are soaked together and ground. The batter needs to be ground to a fine paste and allowed to ferment for at least 12 hours. The dosa will nicely brown only when its fermented well. Also the batter consistency should be a little thinner than the idli batter consistency. After fermenting, if you feel that the batter is thick or your dosas or not coming out well, try to add little water and dilute the batter. But add very little at a time.

UPDATE: Recently, Indian made high quality pre-seasoned cast iron pan has been introduced in the market and I am super happy to say that the manufacturer is none other than my school buddy Santosh Leelakrishnan. The cast iron tawa is proudly made in India and very reasonably priced.

Please check it out! Rock Tawa Cast Iron Pan- Made in India

If you have old cast iron dosa pans at home, you can season them and bring life to those pans back. You can see how to season a dosa pan properly HERE.

Dosa Batter Ingredients

• !Measurements used – 1 cup = 250 ml
• 1 Cup Idli Rice (Par boiled rice)
• 1 Cup Raw Rice
• 1/2 Cup Urad Dal
• 2 Tablespoon Toor Dal
• 1/4 Cup Aval / Poha
• 1/4 teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt

For making Dosa

• Ghee and Oil for greasing the pan

1. Wash the rice and dal in running water 2-3 times.
2. Soak all the ingredients except the salt together in water for at-least 4 hours.
3. Grind the ingredients with little water to a very fine paste. Add upto 2 cups of water while grinding. If you are grinding in a mixie, take time and grind in 2-3 batches. Try not to add a lot of water while grinding.
4. Add in the salt to the batter and mix well to combine.
5. Cover the bowl and allow it to ferment for at-least 12 hours in a warm place.
6. The batter would have almost doubled in volume after the 12 hour fermentation.
7. Mix the batter well and the dosa batter is ready. Store the batter in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and use as required.

For making dosa

1. If the dosa batter is very thick, thin it out by adding very little water.
2. Heat the dosa griddle until medium hot.
3. Add 1/3 cup batter and swirl to completely cover dosa griddle. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of oil or ghee to the dosa. Cook until underside of the dosa is golden brown, about a minute.
4. Loosen the edges of the dosa with a steel spatula. No need to flip the dosa. Remove dosa from the griddle and repeat with remaining batter.
5. Serve hot.

Notes

Adding oil to the pan and then doing dosa will make it difficult to spread the batter. Always add oil to the dosa and not to the pan.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 16 hours
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu