Baigan Mirchi Ka Salan

Ingredients:
Baby eggplants - 250 gm
Capsicum - 200 gm
Whole long green chillies - 50 gm (or according to taste)
Onions - 3
Oil (for frying)
Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Coriander powder - 2 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp.
Cumin powder - 1 tsp.
All spice powder - 1/2 tsp.
Ginger - 2 tsp. (chopped)
Garlic - 2 tsp. (chopped)
Tamarind - key lime size
Curd - 1/2 cup
Whole red chillies - 2
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Salt (to taste)

To grind into paste (A):
Dessicated coconut - 3 tbsp.
Sesame seeds - 1 1/2 tbsp.
Cashew nut - 15
Peanuts - 1 1/2 tbsp.
Whole pepper corn - 1/2 tsp.

Early Preparation:
Cut the capsicum into juliennes. Shallow fry and keep it aside.
Cut eggplant at base as +. Drop them in salted water. Shallow fry the eggplants for few minutes. Keep aside.
Slit the green chillies with the stems intact and remove the seeds. Shallow fry the chillies and keep aside.
Roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, cashew nuts and whole peppercorn in little oil. Make them into paste with coconut.
Slice the onions and shallow fry them till brown color. Cool and make a paste by adding little water.
Make ginger and garlic paste.
Soak the tamarind with 1/3 cup of water and strain. Reserve the tamarind water.


Method:
Heat oil in a deep sauce pan and add the fenugreek seeds. When the seeds splutter, add the ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2 minutes and add the onion paste and saute till it releases oil. Now simmer and add the cumin powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, curd and cook well. Add paste (A) to the above (mentioned) masala and saute properly. Add 2 cups of water and bring it to boil. Add the fried eggplant, green chillies, tamarind water, all spices powder and salt to the above (mentioned gravy). Cover and cook by stirring constantly (without breaking the eggplants) in medium-low flame. When the gravy thickens and oil releases, add the capsicum and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Heat 1 tsp. of oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds and whole red chillies. When the seeds splutter, add it to the prepared dish. Serve hot with biryani, pulav, roti and white rice.
Adapted from a magazine.


Note:
1. Remove the seeds from the green chillies in order to reduce the amount of hotness.
2. If you feel it is too hot, reduce the amount of green chillies or don't add them at all, add only capsicum and eggplant.
3. People with ulcer and heart burn, don't even take a peek of this post please (!).

Sent off to Divya's "Show Me Your Curry", Jay's "Jay Ho Brinjal" and Kitchen Flavours's "Joy of Fasting to Feasting" events.

Posted in: Brinjal, side dish