Rice aubergine casserole is a baked rice dish with a combination of red and white sauce.I adapted this recipe from Nita Mehta's book which I had bookmarked long back.We all liked the dish at our place.I love baked dishes very much and this dish tastes medium bland.You may also make it spicy by adding more pepper and chilly powder.This dish is very cheesy ,so cheese lovers will surely love it.Aubergine is known by the names like brinjal,eggplant,baigan as in Hindi,Gulla or vaingan as in Konkani and it is known as nightshade family of plants.As kids,most of them dislike brinjal but it was my favourite.I used the purple aubergine for this dish,next time I would like to add more Brinjal pieces since we all love loads of it.
Rice-1
cup
Bay leaves-2
Round brinjal
or aubergine-1,large cut into 1” pieces
Capsicum-1
large,cut into ½” pieces
Oil-for
deep frying
Red sauce:
Oil-2 tbsp
Onions-1
½ chopped
Tomatoes-4
large,pureed
Oregano-1 tsp
Salt-1/4
tsp
Pepper powder-1/4
tsp
Red chilly
powder-1/4 tsp
Sugar-1/2
tsp
Cheese sauce or white sauce:
Butter-2 tbsp,softened
Flour-2
tbsp
Milk-2
cups
Cheese-2
cubes,grated
Salt-3/4
tsp
Pepper
powder-1/4 tsp
Mushroom-1 cup,chopped(optional)
Method for the brinjal:
- Sprinkle
¾ tsp salt on the brinjal pieces,mix and keep aside for ½ an hour to sweat.
- Pat
dry the pieces on a paper napkin or kitchen towel.
- Heat oil and deep fry until
golden brown and keep it aside.(You may also bake it by drizzling olive oil for 25 minutes at 180 D C)
Updated pictures with baking method:
- Boil 5-6
cups of water with 1 tsp salt,bay leaves,add washed rice and cook till
tender.
- Strain excess
water,run a fork through the hot rice to separate the rice grains and keep
aside.
- You may also prepare the rice in rice cooker.
Updated picture:Rice cooked in the rice cooker.
Method for the red sauce:
- Heat oil
and add chopped onions and cook till it turns light brown.
- Add pureed
tomatoes,sugar,salt,pepper ,oregano and red chilly powder.
- Cook for about 5
minutes till slightly thick,remove from heat and keep it aside.
Method for the
cheese sauce or white sauce:
- Heat butter
in a clean pan,add flour and stir on low heat for 1 minute.
- Add milk and stir continuously till it comes to a boil,cook for about 2 minutes till it coats the
spoon well.
- Add mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes.(optional)
- Remove from heat,add cheese,salt and pepper,the sauce should be
thin.
- Keep it aside.
To assemble:
- Spread half
the cooked rice in a medium oven proof dish,spread half the aubergine and
chopped capsicum on the rice,top the brinjal with half the red sauce,sprinkle
half the white sauce.
- Again spread
the rice,then the brinjals and then the red sauce,top with white sauce and
lastly spread capsicums,cover the dish with an aluminium foil and bake in a pre
heated oven for about 10 minutes at 200 deg C,uncover the casserole and bake
further for 5 minutes.
- Serve hot.