Vankaya pachadi
South Indian style brinjal chutney, a good accompaniment for rice, roti, dosa.
Servings 4 - 5
Ingredients
- 250 gms brinjal
- ½ tablespoon tamarind (small lemon sized)
- 2 red chilli
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 6 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder (dhaniya powder)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)
- Salt to taste
Tadka
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- Pinch of hing
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 red chili
Instructions
- Wash and soak the tamarind in very little water. Just enough to soak them up.
- Heat a kadai and dry roast cumin and fenugreek seeds little they turn little brown and take them into a mortar pestle.
- To the same pan, add teaspoon of oil and fry red chili. Take these as well to the mortar pestle. Adjust red chili accordingly.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil, chopped brinjals, and salt to the same pan. And let the brinjals cook on medium flame.
- Close the pan with lid so that brinjals are cooked in its own water
- Meanwhile add turmeric powder, coriander seeds powder, garlic pods, fried red chili, roasted cumin, and methi seeds and salt to the mortar pestle.
- Roughly pound the ingredients.
- Add the soaked tamarind along with water to the mortar pestle and make a paste of it.
- Check the brinjals and switch off the stove once they are done. It took around 12 minutes for me but the cooking time depends on brinjals.
- Add the cooked brinjals to the mortar pestle and roughly pound these.
- Don’t mash it completely, chunky brinjal pieces will taste good once they get marinated in the masala paste.
- Take out the chutney into a serving bowl. Prepare tadka using tadka ingredients and add it to the chutney.
- Serve the chutney with hot rice and ghee. This chutney goes well with roti or Bakri or even dosa.