Kathirikai Rasavangi

Ingredients
Brinjal: cubed about 1/2 cup
Kabuli chenna: soaked and cooked about 3 tbsp
Toor Dal: 4-5 tbsp cooked
Tamarind pulp extract: from about a gooseberry sized tamarind piece
Red chillies: 3 – 4
Black peppercorn: about 1/2 tsp
Dhaniya: 2-3 tsp
Urad dal: 2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Coconut grated: 4-5 tsp
Mustard seeds
Curry leaves
Asafoetida
Salt to taste
Oil (preferably coconut oil)

Get Cooking!
1. Take about a tsp or two of oil, roast the dhaniya, urad dal, black peppercorn till the urad dal is golden brown. Set aside to cool down.
2. Add in the grated coconut, grind to a paste.
3. In a saucepan, add a tsp of oil. Put in the cubed eggplant. Saute for a minute or two.
4. Add in the turmeric powder, tamarind pulp extract. Add a little salt for the brinjal being taken. Cook till the raw smell of tamarind is gone & the brinjal is cooked.
5. Add in the kabuli chenna, toor dal and the ground paste. Bring it to a boil.
6. For tempering, in some coconut oil let the mustard seeds crackle, add some urad dal, asafoetida and curry leaves. Pour this into the rasavangi.

Tips
You may add some chopped tomatoes if you please when cooking the brinjal. You may also roast some grated coconut along with the tempering and add it to the rasavangi.
Add some jaggery before the tempering.
If you have not soaked kabuli chenna, you may alternatively use some chenna dal and let it boil along with the brinjal. Preferred ingredient though is kabuli chenna. You may dry roast kabuli chenna and soak in hot water to get it softer sooner.

Vankaya Oorupindi

Ingredients
Brinjal (big one) – 1
Asafoetida powder – 1/4 tsp
Red chilli – 4-6
Tamarind – a small ball say the size of a quarter.
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida
Salt – to taste
Oil

Get Cooking!
1. Grill the brinjal till you are sure that it is cooked well.
2. Peel the skin off (Check if it is cooked well inside).
3.  Sauté the red chilli (ginger, peppercorns, green chillies)
4. Grind  the tamarind, red chilli and salt coarsely.
5. Add the peeled, grilled brinjal & whip it to mix evenly.
5. Temper some mustard seeds, urad dal. Add asafoetida, curry leaves. Add this to the ground mix and whip once.
5. Serve with hot rice & ghee 🙂

 

Tips
You may saute some tomatoes & add to the mixer to add some nutrition/flavour.
You may also reduce the red chillies, add some black peppercorns instead.
I also add ginger, green chillies.
Grilling the tomatoes also gives a different taste to sautéing them.

 

Masala Kathirikai

Ingredients
Onion paste
tomato puree
ginger-garlic paste
tamarind
peanuts
Poppy seeds 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds ½ tbsp
Fenugreek seeds ½ tsp
Coconut 2 tbsp
Red chillies 2
Coriander seeds ½ tbsp
Sesame seeds 1 tbsp
Oil
Coriander leaves

Get Cooking!
1. Roast the khus khus, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chillies, Coriander seeds, sesame seeds and coconut. Grind all to a paste
2. Slit brinjal, fry them.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
4. Add the onion paste, roast for a while.
5. Then add ginger-garlic paste, roast for a while before adding tomato purée.
6. Add the ground masala, salt, chilli powder, some tamarind paste.
7. Mix in the brinjals. Heat this for a couple of minutes with some water so that the brinjals mix in with the masala.
8. Serve with rice/roti garnishing with coriander leaves.

Tips
You could slit the brinjal and roast them in a saucepan with minimal oil till they are cooked or you could bake the vegetable by spraying some oil on them which is what I did.