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.