Ennai kathirikkai / Stuffed brinjal fry

Whole stuffed eggplant / yennai kathirikkai

I relate this whole stuffed brinjal with a story I read very long back in Ambulimama:) It is the story of a wise boy and the king's feast to commons.

The story is as follows:
The king who has heard about the intelligence of a local boy wants to test him. So the king asks him to tell , which food is tastier in that feast without talking with others or tasting. Within a few minutes the boy runs around and tells the king 'The tastiest one is the Ennai kathirikkai, Sir and the least wanted is So and so vegetable'.
When the king asks his secret, the boy says 'I went to the waste leaf area and no one has wasted a single ennnai kathirikkai and vice versa'.
Its a simple story and I assume that the moral is we can judge the taste of the food while disposing the leaf.(Indian feasts are generally served in fresh banana leaf).

So after reading this story , brothers and myself started craving for that unknown fry. Mom learnt the recipe from her friends and we got our most favorite fry.
Even now myself, hubby and brothers prefer it more than meat....funny thing is I never long for meat if have this ennai kathirikkai:)

Hope you too fall in love with this buttery brinjal fry.



I would like to show you the picture of a rare brinjal I got from grocery stores. Never seen a triplet brinjal before:)



Ingredients:
Brinjal / baby eggplant - 6
Oil to deep fry - 1 cup
(I used corn oil)
Salt - 1 tsp (check taste after mixing with chilly powder)
Red chilly powder - 1.5 tsp
garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
(I used Shan brand garam masala)

Method:
Remove the bracts of the brinjal.
Wash and clean them in running water.

Make two slits in the top and bottom, without cutting it into half.

Place the salt and powders in a small bowl.
Mix them into a smooth paste with 2 tsp water.

Carefully stuff this paste inside the brinjal. Keep aside for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a wok.
Deep fry them, till the skin gets wrinkle and the brinjal turns tender like butter.

Note:
We can coat some oil all over and broil in the oven instead of deep frying. But We can't expect the real taste in that oven method.

Ennai kathirikkai is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with sambar and rice.