BM# 103: Week 4, Day 1
Theme : Balkan States

While looking for recipes from the Balkan states, I came across this dish that’s similar to ratatouille. A little bit of reading online told me that Djuvec (pronounced as joovetch), can be a vegetarian or meat based stew. It can be made with a variety of vegetables and you can add beans or meat to make it a complete meal. When rice is added, it becomes djuvec rice and a main dish that can be served on its own if preferred. The recipe is common to the Balkan states so you might find it marked as Bosnian/ Croatian/ Serbian depending on the blog you read from.

I made it for lunch recently and loved it. To an Indian, this is similar to tomato rice loaded with vegetables and free from the regular masalas.

Read on for the recipe.

Recipe source: Bosnian Djuvec rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 2 cups vegetable broth/water
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 1 small capsicum, diced small
• 1 small eggplant, diced small
• 1/2 zucchini, diced small
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder, or per taste
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a big pan and sauté onions, garlic, capsicum, zucchini and eggplants.
2. Once the vegetables are almost cooked, add the tomatoes and green peas along with chili powder and salt. Mix well and cook until the tomatoes are mushy, about 5 minutes.
3. Mix in the rice and broth/water. Taste test and adjust seasonings if needed. Let the water come to a boil. Cover and cook until the rice has absorbed all the water, about 10-15 minutes. Take off the heat. Done!
   

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