Thursday, May 14, 2009

Brinjal Masala

This is a dish, among many others, that I have been putting off posting for so long! When I went to Singapore in October during Diwali vacation, my Bhaabhi (elder sister-in-law) made this dish, and we all loved it. Though I clicked pictures of dishes prepared at home in Singapore, I never got around to posting them. 

Last week, I was browsing through  my Picasa albums (a favorite pastime!:D) and stumbled upon these pictures below. I wanted to post the recipe, however, I realized I had forgotten how Bhaabhi made it. And while editing the pictures in Picasa using 'Retouch' , with reference to Nags' Google Picasa editing article, I think I did something weird and later, I could not find the pictures!

After many attempts of locating the files and a final search and scan of all pictures in the system, I 'retrieved' the pictures (don't ask me what had happened, I have no clue!), and asked my Bhaabhi to email me the recipe, which she did. So here goes!

To make the Brinjal Masala seen in the picture, you will need:


Brinjal - cut into cubes - 3 cups
Tomatoes - finely choppped - 2
Large onions - finely chopped - 2

For the masala:
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 2 tsp
Garlic - peeled and pounded - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1-2 tsp (depending on how hot you like the dish to be)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Lime juice - 1 medium sized lemon 

Coriander leaves - chopped (optional)

Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste



Method:
  • In a pan, roast the chilli powder, turmeric powder, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds along with ginger and garlic in a tsp of oil, and allow to cool
  • Grind the above to a fine paste
  • Heat remaining oil in a pan, sauté the onion until brown, add the tomatoes and fry until the oil separates
  • Add the brinjal and masala paste, mix well, and cook covered on low flame until brinjal is cooked
  • Squeeze lemon juice over the dish and garnish with coriander if you feel like it

Note: You can also use vinegar as a substitute for lemon juice, however, I am not sure of the quantity. Both taste fine.

Serve with rice/ chapathi

25 comments:

amna said...

ah lovely! the fenugreek and the lemon must give it a nice flavour!

Priya Suresh said...

Masala looks yumm! adding fenugreek is new to me!

Indian Khana said...

Interesting recipe..looks gud

sra said...

Hi Shreya, looks like you've been back to blogging for a while now - good to see you back. Just went through your posts - liked the pics of the sardine fry.

Sharmila said...

Love brinjals. Your recipe sounds nice! :-)

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

sounds very tasty and yummy!!! Brinjals are good to have with less spices mmm your recipe is a keeper!!!

Unknown said...

Hey there shreya...my MIL makes this dish and I can surely imagine how this masala tastes...Loved the clicks..thanks for the recipe...Cheers!

Ashwini said...

Wow what a coincidence, I jut made this yesterday. Yummm

Manju said...

mm delicious..love brinjal masala! the lemon must add such a zing to it!! must try it like this once :)

Varsha Vipins said...

Loved this one..have tried this loong back I guess ..an year ago or so..looks good spicy n yum Shreya..:)

Uma said...

mmm. looks so spicy and delicious.

A_and_N said...

If its brinjal, bring it on!! :)

Cham said...

Anything brinjal I am ready to have it!

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Looks very yummyyyyyy....

Gita Jaishankar said...

It looks so yummy, I would love to have this rice and rasam :)

notyet100 said...

yummy version of brinjal masala,,.;-)

Sid Khullar said...

Apart from eating this with Rotis, I'd love to stuff it into a sandwich with some cheese and raw onion and perhaps a little bhujia. Okay, maybe I'm desecrating the original dish, but it tastes delicious!

chef and her kitchen said...

looking good...I had brinjal curry only in the afternoon...

Unknown said...

wow what aflavorfull recipe I like brinjal in any way looks so yum nice curry shreya

Vaishali said...

Oooh, yum, bring on the eggplant recipes! What a mouthwatering masala dish, Shreya. Thanks for sharing your bhabhi's recipe.
About your question on roasting the eggplant for the dip I posted, yes, I would say you can definitely try it that way. Just make sure it's cooked through.

chef and her kitchen said...

Hey shreya...Whr do u stay in bombay?

Laavanya said...

My parents often make this curry.. my husband however prefers a very dry brinjal curry so haven't made it in a while. Love this with curd rice.

Sia said...

OMG! that looks so gooooood. I LOVE anything cooked with brinjal:)

bee said...

have planted brinjal this year. hopefully it will yield and we'll try this too.

-jai

Happy Ginni said...

Hey...was wondering what to cook today...and as usual, your blog didn't disappoint me this time either...Keep going. What would i do without your wonderful blog!