Gutti vankaya koora / Stuffed eggplant curry

Ingredients :

baby eggpants : 6 no

onions : 1/2 cup chopped finely

ginger garlic paste : 1 tsp

dry coconut : 2 inch piece

seasme seeds : 1/4 cup

peanuts : 2 tsp

red chilli powder : 1 tsp

salt : to taste

tamarind : lime size

turmeric : a big pinch

mustard seeds : 1/2 tsp

cumin : 1/2 tsp

curry leaves : few

corriander seeds : 3 tsp

cinamom stick : 1 inch piece

cloves : 3

cardamom : 1

corriander leaves : few for garnishing

Oil : for deep frying

Dry roast the corriander seeds, peanuts and seasme seeds. Now grind the corriander seeds along with cinamom, cloves and cardamom and keep aside. In the same jar grind the dry coconut, peanuts and seasme seeds to a coarse paste adding little water. Keep aside. Soak the tamarind in hot water and squeeze out the liquid.

Heat enough oil in a pan for deep frying the eggplants. Cut the egg plants from the bottom holding the green part on the top so that the slices are intact in the shape if a plus sign and put them in cold water with little amount of salt so as to avoid darkening. Now place the eggplants in hot oil and fry for some time until they are cooked 75 %. Take them out onto a plate.

Take another pan and pour 2 tsp oil and heat it. Add in the mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Add in the cumin, turmeric and onions. Keep mixing to avoid burning. Once the onions turn translucent add the ginger garlic paste. keep mixing add the ground corriander mixture. Now add the tamarind liquid and the ground paste and cook till the raw smell goes off. Add the red chilli powder and salt. Drop in the egg plants. Cook till the egg plants absorb all the flavours of the mixture for about 10 minutes. At this point the oil should start oozing out otherwise cook for some more time. Switch off the stove and serve hot garnished with corriander. Goes well with chapatis.