South Indian Style- Peanut Baingan/Eggplant

 

This is new version of eggplant, I ever made and tasted, but I have some of the ingredients used in south Indian cooking. When I bought this week to try something with this, I never found any recipes for green eggplant other than green bharta, which I don’t want to try. So I created my own version, I hope you will like it too like my family loved it.

Ingredients

1. 5 green round Eggplant/ Baingan cut in ¼ inch slices

2. One Onion (chopped roughly)

3. One tomato diced

4. 3-4 green chilies (according to you, you can also opt for dry red chilies)

5. 3-4 garlic cloves

6. ½ cup of peanut

7. 2 tbsp or 8-10 leaves of kaddipatta / curry leaves

8. 1 tsp of cumin seeds

9. 1 tsp of fennel / sauf seeds

10. ½ tsp of fenugreek seeds

11. ½ tsp of coriander seeds

12. Salt to taste

13. 1 tbsp of imli / tamarind concentrate

14. Oil

15. ½ tps pf turmeric, red chili powder, cumin and amchoor / mango powder each

Directions

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan and add slices of eggplant in it.

2. Stir fry them till both the sides are slightly brown.

3. Take them out and keep them aside in a bowl.

4. In the same pan add little bit oil again and add onion garlic and green chilies and saute them till light golden.

5. Add peanuts and curry leaves also now and keep on shaking the pan, so that they don’t burn.

6. Now with a spoon just shift all the onion aside and add the dry spices, let them stand for 2 minutes and then mix with onion mixture.

7. Now mix in the tomatoes and let the mixture cook for 5 minutes.

8. Add all the dry spices now, salt, red chili powder, turmeric, mango and cumin powder and cook for another 2 minutes. Let it cool down and take off the heat.

9. In a mixing bowl or cup add tamarind concentrate in little water.

10. In a mixer/grinder add the onion/peanut masala with tamarind water and blend it really well. The mixture will be turned out as little grainy, but this is what you are looking for.

11. Add the mixture in same pan and cook with ½ cup of water. Bring it to boil.

12. Add the sliced green eggplant and let it cook in low heat for 5-8 minutes.

13. Serve with hot roti or parantha , naan or rice.

- enjoy

Chitra

Lucknowi Daal

Traditional Daal recipe is spicy and tangy.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup of soaked tuar / arhaar daal

2. ½ tsp f turmeric powder

3. 2 tbsp of tamarind pulp

4. Salt to taste

5. 1 tsp of cumin seeds

6. 1 tsp of dried Red chili

7. 4 chopped finely garlic cloves

8. A pinch of Asafetida

9. 1 cup of milk

10. 2 tbsp of Oil

11. Cilantro / dhaniya leaves for garnishing

Directions

1. In a non stick deep pan add two cups of water.

2. Now add soaked daal to it.

3. Add milk and green chili and stir.

4. Bring the daal to boil.

5. Now reduce the heat and add tamarind pulp and turmeric powder.

6. Cook on simmer and meanwhile in a non stick pan prepare the tadka.

7. Heat oil and add cumin seeds and let them splutter.

8. Now add dry red chili and chopped garlic and reduce heat.

9. Add asafetida powder and salt.

10. Pour the cooked daal in a serving bowl.

11. Mix in the tadka and chopped dhaniya leaves to daal and stir.

Serve hot with roti or steamed rice.

-Chitra

Mint Chutney

Savory treat for all of you :)

Ingredients:-

· 1 cup of soaked seedless tamarind in warm water
· 2 bunches of mint / pudina
· 1 bunch of cilantro / dhaniya / corriander
· 1 jalapeno or green chili
· ½ chopped red onion
· 3 tsp. of sugar (sugar free preferred)
· Salt to taste
· 1 teaspoon of red chili powder
· Water


Directions:-

· Separate Mint and Cilantro leaves from stems.
· Now mix them in blender with onions and green chilies. If the mixture is thick to mix add little bit of water.
· Now slowly add soaked tamarind.
· When it is mixed well add salt, red chili powder and sugar.
· Enjoy mint chutney sandwiches by spreading over any kind of bread, crackers or nachos,

even with paranthas, puris or pakoras

-Chitra