Kathirikkai Kulambu

Ingredients:

Eggplant – 1 medium

Shallots – 1 cup

Wine Tomatoes – 3

Garlic  – 10

Sambar powder – 3 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves – 10 (one sprig)

Tamarind – one small lemon size

Coconut – 1/4 cup

Oil – As required

Asafoetida – a pinch

Salt to taste

For Masala:

Oil – 1 tsp

Dried red chilies – 6 (spice level)

Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp

Black pepper – 1/2 tsp

Chana dal – 1/2 tsp

Toor dal – 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

Cut the eggplants into medium size cubes and set aside. Soak tamarind in 2 tbsp of hot water. Extract the juice and discard any pith. Heat a pan and add a teaspoon of oil.  Add coriander seeds, dried chilies, black pepper, chana dal, toor dal. Let it cool and grind it along with tamarind to a fine paste. Keep it aside. Heat 1/3 cup of oil and fry the eggplants until it becomes tender.  

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan and sauté shallots (cut into small pieces) until translucent. Remove from heat. In the same pan, heat 1 tsp of oil and sauté grated coconut for a minute and remove from the pan. Add a tbsp of oil to the same pan and sauté chopped tomatoes until cooked. Let everything cool and grind it to a fine paste.

In a saucepan add oil and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add cumin seeds, fenugreek, asafoetida, chopped garlic and curry leaves. Sauté until garlic becomes golden color. Add sambhar powder and cook for a minute.

Add ground onion tomato mixture along with the masala paste. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes.

Add fried eggplants. Add a cup of water and let everything cook over low heat for another 15 minutes or until oil starts separating from the gravy.