Spicy & flavorful rice...

For our team dinner, we went to a fancy restaurant and the food was great. I loved the starter (cucumber salad with dill). For the main course, I ordered a vegetable stir fry with rice. The way they had described it on the menu sounded really exotic. When I received the dish (don't have pictures to show- unfortunately) it was a simple dish where the chef had cooked the vegetables with soya sauce and blended it with basmati rice. I was expecting something complex but received something simple and flavorful! Full marks to the chef :)- Well, this is not a restaurant review- But an explanation of my source of inspiration for my egg plant rice. For my dish, I cooked the eggplant (with Indian flavors, of course) and mixed it with basmati rice to create a simple and a unique eating experience. Enjoy!

Ingredients-

1. Basmati rice (cooked- 2 cups)
2. 1 egg plant (medium sized)
3. onions (sliced- 2 small)
4. one tomatoe (chopped)
5. 3 cloves garlic
6. green chilli (1- chopped fine)
7. salt
8. paprika powder
9. cooking oil

For the Indian flavors- (optional)

1. 3/4 tsp garam masala 
2. corriander leaves chopped fine
3. mustard seeds (1/4 tsp)
4. grated coconut (2 spoons)

Preparation- Cook your basmati rice and keep it separate. Preparing the egg plant is quite simple. In a wok, pop some mustard seeds in cooking oil before adding onion. Saute the onion. Once onion is golden crispy brown, add crushed and chopped garlic, chilli pieces and tomatoes. Don't allow the tomatoes to get mushy. Add egg plant (chopped in cubes) to this and stir fry with a bit of oil. Add paprika powder, salt, garam masala, grated coconut. Give it to a twirl and finally add the corriander leaves. Mix the vegetables with rice and enjoy!