Friday, March 20, 2009

Brinjal serwa

Being a lover of nature (just call me crazy, ha ha) , I have the habit of googling the images of many flowers and vegetables:). Lets say that is my only one way to quench my thirst. While doing so , I bumped into an interesting article about 'Mullu kathirikai',(meaning - brinjal with few tender thorn like attachment) a native brinjal grown in Vellore of TamilNadu. Guess it would be the most yummiest brinjal one can ever taste. I am also one among those luckiest people who had the chance to taste it, while I was in Chennai. That is a unique variety of brinjal with few thorns in its outer skin. But unlike all other brinjal , it will never show any bitter taste. After cooking we can compare the taste like that of a butter melting in the mouth:)
Then I googled again if I can find an authentic recipe with it. Interestingly the first link showed up belonged to Malar of Kitchen Tantra. The name of the recipe is 'Kathirikai serwa' and we can get this dish as a side dish along with Ambur / vellore / kushka biriyani in Madras. I have tasted it in restaurants but never knew the exact recipe. The end result was so good, that my hubby couldn't control himself on seeing his favorite dish.




The whole recipe belongs to Malar and here is the link for the original Vellore serwa recipe from her. She has a vast collection of unique Indian dishes. If you are a great Non-veg fan or looking for some authentic south Indian dishes , then I strongly recommend you to visit her blog.
(Original recipe Posted by Malar Gandhi at Sunday, April 27, 2008 )

Ingredients:
To Grind:
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 4 pods
Scallions - 2
Country tomato - 4 (1/2 lb)

To Powder:
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
(I added 1 tsp sesame seeds because I ran out of sesame oil. But if you are using the sesame oil, you can leave the seeds).

For Tempering:
Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp
Cumin - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves few
Sesame oil - 1/4 cup

For Serwa:
Indian Eggplants - 1/2 lb .
Green chilies - 3 slitted
onion - 1 sliced
Salt
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Chili powder - 1 tsp
tamarind extract - 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash and clean the brinjal. Remove the stem, but retain the bracts.
slice them legthwise along with bracts (crown).

Dry roast the items given to powder and make a fine powder.
Grind the ginger, garlic , tomato , chopped onion (2 tbsp) together.

In an iron wok, heat up oil. Add tempering spices, followed by chillies and onions. Fry real good till onions turn golden. Add salt to hasten the process.

Now add ground ingredients and fry till raw odour leaves the pan.

Followed by sliced eggplants. Mix well.

Add Turmeric ,tamarind , salt and chilli powders . Cover and cook till the vegetables become tender and oil shows up on sides.

Then add powdered spices and bring to one boil, remove from heat. Care should be taken not to break the brinjal while cooking.

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with biriyani , any rice or rotis.
Makes nearly 500 ml of thick gravy.
serves 5 generous helpings.
Time taken for the entire process: 30 minutes.

34 comments:

Gita Jaishankar said...

That looks so yummy Viki, I just need some rice and rasam to finish up all that kathrikai :)

Anonymous said...

Looking so tempting Viki..havent tried this much spicy...thanks for sharing

FH said...

Truly delicious, I love any Brinjal dish you can give me. Love Malar's blog as well! :)

gtyuk said...

looks delicious, new preparation for me!
I love to browse our Malar's blog for authentic indian recipes (especially my favorite non-veg items) :)

Shama Nagarajan said...

looks yummy dear

Premyscakes said...

what a spicy dish!!! love to have it.
cheers viki.

Nandinis food said...

Delicious brinjals! I used to browse malar's blog whenever I have any doubt.Thanks for supporting me. Nothing is going to happen. just leave it. Nice spicy yummy brinjals!. thanks viki.My next post I am planning for brinjal.

Usha said...

I love brinjal in all forms, looks delicious !

Unknown said...

looks yumm..

Trupti said...

serwa looks very delicious & easy to make.

Sia said...

gosh, that one delicious looking curry. never came across serwa recipe and i am so looking forward to cook this for myself (DH is allergic to eggplants. yayyyyy;) and relish it.

Deepa Hari said...

i love brinjals...Looks yummy Viki...Yeah, Malar has a very interesting collection of recipes...like her blog.

Finla said...

Curry looks so yummy delicous.
I don't make that often brinjal as my daughter don't like them.

Cham said...

Quiet a different recipe about brinjal!

Lavanya said...

really yummy..feeling hungry..new recipe with brinjal!!

Preety said...

this is such a interesting way of making brinjal..love the recipe

Varsha Vipins said...

Looks yummmyyy..I love any egg plant dish..mainly fries..:)
Btw,I guess Tn T for this month is Suganya's recipes dear..:)

Varsha Vipins said...

Btw,My feed not updating in reader's page,sobs..:( ,pls chck my new post n pick the award ..:)
happy weeekend dear..:)

Vibaas said...

i love eggplant and that looks super yum!

Chutneytales said...

WOw wow..it looks very mouth watering..I love spicy eggplant dishes..Thanks for sharing :)

Priya Suresh said...

I love Malar's blog too, this brinjal serwa looks great Viki, will try soon...regarding ur q'n about wheat noodles it wont be difficult viki, as we are kneading the flours with hot water, they were almost half cooked, as we are using hot water the flours will turn soft n prefect, adding oil helps a lot too while pressing..am do often wheat n ragi flour noodles, i learned through my mom as these small tips, hope this helps...if u have doubt am ready to clarify our doubts..

Vikis Kitchen said...

Thank you friends for your support and loving comments.
Thanks Priya for clarifying my doubt. It is much helpful for me.

Nandinis food said...

Hi Viki,
Thank you very much for supporting me and asking help. She removed the thattai post.

Adlak's tiny world said...

brinjal serwa new and catchy name... looks yummy.

Poornima Nair said...

Looks delicious Viki...my hubby would love this.

Sakshi said...

Thanks for those sweet words on my blog...u made my day :)...btw the moment I opened ur blog my eyes fell on that curry leaf chutney and I stole the recipe for today's breakfast...it was really yummy..
Hats off to u guys for supporting ur friend Ushanandini :)

Malar Gandhi said...

Thanks Viki for trying my recipe, it has turned out perfect for you. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for the link and those lovely words about me ra, I am speachless!!!

Raks said...

I love anything thats made out of brinjal,wud love to try this out sometime:)

Jaishree Iyer said...

This dish is new to me viki.. looks nice will have a try..

Manju said...

mmm...thats truly delicious!!

Meenal Mehta said...

Hi Vicky,

this recipe looks great , thanks for sharing:))

Dori said...

I love eggplant, dish looks delicious!!!

Madhu's cooking gallery said...

Wow! lip-smacking dish!

Unknown said...

just now made it..............n tasted it, i came in..running to give this comment woooww mhmmmm mhmmm mhmmm......the right one that i was searching for.

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