Sunday, June 24, 2007

Katharikkai Kichedi Kuzambu - JFI Eggplant

Eggplants, Katharikkai as called in Tamil Nadu - a Foe turned into Friend. Never used to like them till before marriage. I guess I started appreciating them only when I stepped foot in the US and truly found how difficult it is to get some good old Indian veggies here. It then dawned on me that I was being punished for hating those cute little "eggplant" guys. I started to crazily buy Indian veggies whenever I see a fresh one .. The love for eggplant should have started then. My mom used to cook many varieties of dishes using eggplant. Her stuffed baingan being my favourite. My brother, who was not a big fan of them then, used to pick a big fight with mom whenever she makes them. Well.. gone are those days. There comes a time when everyone realises the goodness in "Eggplants" :) The huge eggplants that one can find here.. well it was not of much use to me until my husband taught me the art of seasoning and deep frying them. Oh my God.. thats pure heaven. The real winner though was my mother in law, who while visiting US taught me this "Kichedi Kuzambu" using the big eggplants that you get here. I never thought I will like Kichedi Kuzambu using katharikkai.. but one has to taste to know. The dish was a huge success and has become a regular at our household.


So, when the JFI event for eggplant was announced, I immedietly knew what to make. The easiest and the simplest.. but doesn't compromise in taste. Now on to the recipe and then off it goes to the "JFI - Eggplant" event hosted by "Sangeeta of Ghar ka khana". Thanks Sangeeta for hosting the event.




Ingredients:

Eggplant - 1 medium sized
Onions - 1 cup
Slit green chillies - 2
Red chilles - 2-3
Curry leaves
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
Mustard
Urad Dal
Channa Dal
Coriander
Turmeric powder
Hing

Eggplant roasted and ready to be peeled
Mashed eggplant
Method:
  • Cut the eggplants into big chunks
  • Roast them in a deep tava with 2 tbsps oil on medium high until cooked. The skin should be glossy and wrinkled.
  • Take them out and let cool. Once cooled remove the skin and mash the eggplant coarsely.
  • In the same tava, heat 1 tbsp of oil.
  • Burst mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal and curry leaves.
  • Add the mashed eggplant, 1/2 cup water and the tamarind paste.
  • Also add turmeric, hing and salt.
  • Let boil until raw smell from eggplant disappears.
  • Add curry leaves at the end and let simmer for a couple minutes.
  • Garnish with coriander.

Note: This can be had with ghee, rice and pappad.

8 comments:

Sangeeta said...

Hi Meena,

Thanks so much for participating. And this is such a great recipe :0 Thanks for sharing

Sia said...

it does look like a winning dish. u r so true abt liking the vegetables which we hated when we were bk in india. i too buy lots of fresh indian vegetables whenever i get chance:)

Sia said...

r u on break meena?

Unknown said...

Hi,
I liked the dish.. it looks really yummy. I don't like the big eggplant we get in US but this dish looks great. I am going to give it a try.
You didn't describe when to add the onion and slit green chillies in your procedure.. Do we have to fry them in oil before adding the mashed eggplant?
Thanks,
Sreedevi

Meena Raj said...

No Sia.. Just lot of things happenning.. Everytime I sit down to blog.. something screams for attention I guess. Hoping to post some yummy dishes tommorrow. Thanks for checking though.

Meena Raj said...

Hi Sreedevi.. Sorry for replying this late. Thanks for leaving a comment. Yes, I used to hate the big eggplants too.. but try it in this recipe and you might just start liking them. . Yes, the onions and the green chillies go into the oil for a little sauteing before the eggplants. Thanks for letting me know that. I will update the post.

Unknown said...

Hi Meena,
I tried it yesterday with one jumbo eggplant I had bought a while ago and was struggling to think of ideas on what to do with it. it came out very good. I added a little bit of jaggery and micrhi powder (as the green chilli i used was mild). It reminded me of a dish my mother used prepare.. she used to call it "vankaya bajji". I used to love it. I had forgotten about it totally until I saw your dish. thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Sreedevi

Meena Raj said...

You are very welcome Sreedevi. I am glad u tried it and liked it too. Yup.. this is one of the very traditional recipes.. soul satisfying