Masala bhat is a tasty, spicy and aromatic one-pot traditional rice recipe made with various mix vegetables, spices, herbs, nuts and coconut from the Maharashtrian cuisine.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 35 minutes
  • Total time: 65 minutes
  • Yield: 3 · 3 to 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian, Maharashtrian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup regular rice (or long grained rice)
  • 1 cup chopped cauliflower
  • 1 small carrot
  • 2 small brinjals ((aubergines or baingan))
  • 1 small to medium capsicum ((green bell pepper)
  • 1 small potato ((optional))
  • 1 small to medium tomato (or 2 tablespoon yogurt (curd))
  • 1 tej patta ((indian bay leaf) or 7 to 8 curry leaves)
  • 3 to 4 teaspoon Goda Masala ((kala masala) - (recipe for a small batch given in the notes section))
  • ½ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • 2.5 cups water or as required
  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • salt as required
  • 1 tablespoon grated coconut
  • 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
  • 15-20 cashews
  • 1 teaspoon ghee

Method

  1. Rinse and soak the rice for 30 minutes in enough water.
  2. Rinse and chop all the veggies.

making masale bhat

  1. Heat oil in pan. add the mustard seeds and bay leaf or curry leaves.
  2. Let the mustard seeds crackle.
  3. Then add the all the chopped veggies - carrots, cauliflower, capsicum, aubergines and tomatoes or yogurt.
  4. Saute the veggies for 3 to 4 minutes stirring often.
  5. Meanwhile heat 2.5 cups water and bring it to a boil.
  6. Add the red chili powder, goda masala, asafoetida to the sauteed veggies. Stir and saute for a minute.
  7. Then add the rice and saute for a minute.
  8. Add the hot water and stir well.
  9. Season with salt. check the taste of the water. If required add more salt.
  10. Cover the pan and simmer the rice on a low flame till the grains are softened and cooked well.
  11. Do check once or twice when the rice is cooking, by opening the lid.
  12. If the water looks less and the rice uncooked, add some more hot water and continue cooking the rice. Stir gently with a fork.
  13. While the rice is cooking, roast the cashews till golden in a pan.
  14. Once the rice is cooked, let the rice stand for 5 minutes in the pan.
  15. Then sprinkle ghee on top of the masale bhat.

serving masala bhat

  1. When serving garnish with coconut, cashews and chopped coriander leaves.
  2. You can also sprinkle a few dots of ghee on the served rice instead of adding it in the pan.
  3. Serve the masala bhat hot accompanied with yogurt, buttermilk, raita or a side maharashtrian vegetable dish or khamang kakdi.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.