I love sambar recipes that are made with a lot of vegetables. Every time I make sambar, I add tons of vegetables in sambar as my boys love eating them. Hence I make kootu more often than I make regular sambar. This rasavangi has a lot of kathrikkai / brinjal and is made with freshly ground spices and tuvaram paruppu / toor dal. Amma always plans lunch based on what she is planning to make for dinner. If she is planning to make dosai for dinner, then she would plan to make rasavangi for lunch. This rasavangi tastes amazing with dosai and it is one of my favorites.
What is rasavangi?
Rasavangi is an authentic recipe made predominantly by the Tamil Brahmin family. I would call it a cousin of arachuvitta sambar but it closely resembles kootu than sambar. Rasavangi can be made with white pumpkins as well. I make it as white pumpkin kootu which is the same as a rasavangi.
Why make this recipe?
If you are an eggplant lover, this is a must-try recipe.
It is very easy to make and tastes great not just with rice but also with idli and dosai.
I make it as often as I can in summer with homegrown eggplants. The best part is, we can use any kind of eggplant for this recipe. If I have a couple of different kinds of eggplant, I mix ther and make this rasavangi.
It is a vegan recipe and is a great choice if you follow a vegan lifestyle.
What kind of brinjal/eggplant to use for kathrikai rasavangi?
Amma would make kathirikai rasavangi mostly with the long purple brinjal which is called the Japanese eggplant in the US. I grow these every summer and I make it with that. But the best part is we can use any eggplant that is available. I make it with the big eggplant that we use to make Baingan Bharta and also the small eggplants that are used to make kathirikai curry / poriyal. I have also mixed different kinds of eggplants and used them together.
Ingredients and substitutes
Eggplant / kathirikkai / Brinjal - I have used long eggplant in the recipe. See the note above on what other eggplant can we use.
Tuvaram paruppu / Toor dal - Cook the toor dal until soft and mushy and use it in the rasavangi recipe.
Tamarind - Use fresh tamarind or tamarind pulp.
For garnish - curry leaves and cilantro
Spices - Turmeric powder and salt. We will make fresh spice powder as well which is listed below.
Fry together and grind into powder - Chana dal, Coriander seeds, Red chilies, coconut.
To season - Oil, Mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves
Step-by-step process
Prep work
Cook the tuvaram paruppu / toor dal in enough water until soft and mushy and keep aside. I cook toor dal in an instant pot in pressure cook / manual mode for 15 minutes.
Soak the tamarind in hot water for a few minutes and extract the juice from the tamarind. Squeeze the extract by adding water about 3 times and keep the water separate. If using tamarind paste, use about 1 teaspoon of paste and dissolve it in 2 cups of water.
Fry all the ingredients listed above (chana dal, coriander seeds, red chilies, and coconut) and grind them into a coarse powder. Keep aside.
How to make rasavangi
Cut the eggplants into 1-inch pieces. Heat oil and add the eggplant chunks and scald it for a few minutes until the eggplants start changing color.
Now add the extracted tamarind water to the eggplant. Make sure that the water covers the vegetable.
Add salt and turmeric powder and let it boil until the vegetable is cooked well.
Now add the ground powder and cooked Paruppu and mix well. Also, add the asafetida and curry leaves and let the mixture come to a boil.
Season the cooked rasavangi with mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves, and serve hot. I made some okra curry to serve with kathirikai rasavangi.
Expert Tips
Make sure to have all the prep work done ahead for an easy and smooth cooking process.
After chopping the eggplant, keep it soaked in water until ready to cook. This prevents the eggplant from becoming brown.
Grind the roasted spice powder in intervals, so it does not become oily from the coconut.
Cook the toor dal until mushy either in a pressure cooker or instant pot.
Cook the rasavangi on low flame after adding the spice powder and dal and keep stirring in frequent intervals.
Frequently asked questions
More eggplant/brinjal recipes
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