Quick Stuffed Brinjal Curry

Certain dishes pair well with each other. Some don’t. Sometimes we are quite certain the pairs are worth a try and many times risks are taken to see of the pairs will get along with each other. Well, isn’t this something like dealing with people!

Anyways, the day I made Chettinad vegetable Briyani, I made this brinjal curry because there were no other vegetables in the fridge.

I am not sure if I have mentioned it before but brinjal is one of my favorite vegetable! I get a lot of weird looks when I mention this but I simple love it in any form. Mom’s Ennai kathirikkai[a brinjal gravy that has an inch of oil floating over the gravy] is my favorite of all the brinjal recipes. She makes it the microwave with very little oil that I often joke that it should be rename Ennai[illada] kathirikkai[Oil less brinjal gravy].Even though there is very little oil used the taste is not compromised.

So coming to the brinjal topic, I love it!! And every time I pick one variety or the other from the farmers market. Thus there is always some in the fridge just like the other day when I made the briyani.

I had this briyan- brinjal curry combo for lunch but was not sure if this pair would clicks. When I served it for dinner, hubby was gushing out praises on the combo! I was mighty relieved but a little sad that I made a very small portion of the curry.

This dish is my second one for Blogging Marathon #49 under the theme – One vegetable , 3 dishes

I used:

For the spice mix / stuffing

Urad dal-1/4 cup
Channa dal-1/4 cup
Curry Leaves- a handful
Sesame seeds-2 tablespoons
Poppy seeds – 2 tablespoons
Red chilies-3,broken
Asafoetida powder- a large pinch
Grated coconut-2 tablespoons
Salt to taste

Brinjal- 1/2 kilo , tender ones
Oil-1 tablespoon

First let us make the spice mix for stuffing:

Heat a pan and roast the urad dal, channa dal, curry leaves, red chilies,asafoetida till the dal turns light brown.Add the poppy seeds and sesame seeds. After a couple of minutes add the coconut and roast on low flame till the coconut loses the moisture.Transfer the mixture onto a plate and let it cool.Grind along with salt to a semi coarse powder. Store in an air tight container and use as needed.

Wash the brinjal and make slits keeping the stalk end intact as shown in the pic. Stuff the slits withe spice mix.

Heat a pressure cooker with oil and place the stuffed brinjal .Add a large splash of water[don’t add too much!],2 teaspoons of the spice mix and cover and pressure cook for 1 whistle / 5 minutes. Let the pressure release automatically. Remove the lid and transfer the curry onto a serving dish.

Serve as a side dish with rice…

Note:

• The spice mix can be made ahead and use as needed.
• Do not add too much water to cook it.The binjal will turn mushy and unattractive.
• Use tender brinjal so that it cooks fast.

Bon Appetit…