Stuffed Brinjal Curry

Many of you would know this famous dish from Andhra and I learnt it from one of my Telugu friends, a couple of years ago. She had made it for a party and I loved it so much that I asked her the recipe at once, and tried it the very next week. It was a big hit in our family and its now my husband’s favourite. Even though this recipe has been blogged by many others, I would like to add mine too.Try it out and let me know about it.

Ingredients

Violet brinjals-10 (choose fresh and small ones)
Tomatoes-2 finely chopped
Onions-3 finely chopped
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Green chilli- 1 chopped finely
Oil- 6 tsp
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Jeera- ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
Coriander leaves- finely chopped 2 tsp

To grind

Peanuts-6 tsp dry roasted
Sesame seeds-6 tsp dry roasted
Coconut grated- 2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp
Garam masala- 1tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Wash the brinjals , do not remove the stem , and slit them vertically and horizontally like a plus sign(starting from the opposite end of the stem) without breaking them into halves.

Grind the ingredients to a fine paste. Acc to my friend's recipe the ingredients must be powdered. But as I did not have a good mixie with me when I first tried this ,I had to grind them to a paste. It turned out well and so I always try it out this way. If u want ,u can try it out in powdered form. Stuff the paste into the brinjal slits.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and jeera. When the mustard pops add the onions and green chillies. Saute for some time and then add the brinjals and the remaining paste. Fry for some time and add the chopped tomatoes ,turmeric powder, chilli powder,salt and ½ cup of water. Close with a lid , simmer the flame and keep stirring every 5 minutes, gently without smashing the brinjals.

This takes a long time ( almost 30 to 40 minutes) to cook. Remove from heat when brinjals are tender and when oil floats on top. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with rice.