Oil Brinjal gravy / Enney katharikkaay kuzhambu

Ingredients:

Brinjal - 8
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Garlic - 4 cloves
Cumin - 1/2 teaspoon
Thick tamarind pulp - 1/2 cup
Red chili powder - 2 teaspoon
Corriander powder - 3 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Scraped coconut - 3/4 cup
For seasoning: Mustard seed, Urad dal, Fenugreek, Cumin, Curryleaves
Oil - 1/4 cup
Salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Slit the brinjals at he tip.
• Add 1 teaspoon oil to the pan and season mstard seeds, urad dal, fenugreek, cumin and curry leaves.
• Add long sliced onions and garlic; saute well.
• Cut tomato into small pieces, add to the pan and saute well.
• Add the remaining oil to the pan; add brinjals and saute well till they get brown colour.
• Add little water to the tamarind pulp ; add red chili powder, corriander powder, turmeric powder and salt and pour this mixto the pan and cover it.
• Grind coconut and cummin to a nice paste.
• After the brinjals get cooked well, add coconut cumin paste and switch off the stove when it comes to a boil.

. Learnt from: Mrs. Padma, my mother

Oil Brinjal Masala

Ingredients:

Brinjal - 8
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Garlic - 4 cloves
Scraped coconut - 4 teaspoon
Roasted skin-removed groundnut - 1/3 cup
Sesame / Ellu (white / black) - 3 teaspoon
Corriander seeds - 4 teaspoon
Red chili powder - 3 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Watery tamarind pulp - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1/3 cup
Salt - as needed

Procedure:

• Remove the stems of the brinjal and make slits lengthwise. (If the brinjals are bigger, cut them into medium size pieces.)
• Roast sesame / ellu  and coriander seeds separately without oil.
• Add groundnut, coconut and grind well.
• Add sauted onion and tomato, little water to this and grind to a paste.

• Add oil to a frying pan and place the brinjals.
• When the brinjal changes colour, add chopped garlic, ground pste, turmeric powder, salt and ad little water.

• Let the masala boil till the raw smell goes off.

• See to it that brinjals are not cooked too soft.
• When the masala thickens, switch off the stove.

Note:

• If you prefer a gravy, switch off the stove when the masala retains some water.
• When we prepare for our family, quantity of oil can be reduced.
• It is a perfect side-dish for biriyani, ghee rice and chappathi.

Learnt from: Mrs. Nalini Sadanand, my friend

Pepper Brinjal Chops

Ingredients:

Brinjal - medium size - 6
Small onion - 8
Garlic - 4 cloves
Scraped coconut -4 tablespoon
Pepper - 1 tablespoon
Corriander seeds - 2 tablespoon
Cumin - 1/2 tablespoon

Sauf / sombu - 1/2 tablespoon

Red chili - 2

Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 5 tablespoon

Salt - as needed

Procedure:

•  Dry grind pepper, cumin, sauf, red chili, corriander seeds to a coarse powder.

• Add onions and scraped coconut,little water and grind to a paste.

•  Cut each brinjal lengthwise to 6 pieces.
• Place a pan on the stove and add oil; when it gets heated up, add brinjal and chopped garlic.

• After it starts changing colour, add the paste, turmeric powder, curry leaves, salt and add a cup of water and stir.

• Don't cover the pan.
• Stir now and then.
• Take care while the gravy thickens.
• Take care that brinjals are not too softly cooked.

• When the moisture goes off completey and roasted well switch off the stove.

 Learnt from: Mrs. Padma, my mother