Brinjal whole fry

This is a very simple recipe I tried after preparing the stuffed masala egg. I thought of replacing the eggs with eggplant and the result was awesome. We can serve it along with ghee rice, as the masala we get at the end will be very tasty to go with anything. Try this and enjoy.

Stuffed brinjal fry.

Ingredients:

Brinjal (small)- 6
oil - 1/4 cup
(sesame oil or EVOO)
onion - 2
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
salt - little

Stuffing / Filling:

Garam masala - 1 tsp
(I used sakthi biryani masala powder)
chilly powder - 1 tbsp
coriander powder - 3 tsp
salt - to taste
turmeric powder - a pinch
lemon juice - 1 tbsp (optional)

Method:

Slit the brinjal longitudinally without completely splitting.
Mix the filling with a tbsp of water and stuff inside the brinjal.
Keep the remaining masala aside.

Heat oil in a thick bottom wok.
Place the brinjals and let them fry for a minute. Turn and do the same for a minute.
In the mean time, chop the onions into thin long pieces and add to the frying brinjals.
Add ginger garlic paste, little salt and left over masalas to that. Close tightly and cook well in low heat. Stir gently once in a while.

Nearly after 15 minutes, we can see the oil separating from the brinjal masala.
Switch off.

Stuffed brinjal fry is ready.

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with chapthi, roti or any paratha.
Makes a great combo with ghee rice or coconut milk rice.
Also tastes good with curd rice.

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.

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.