Cooking with Pedatha: Vankaya Pachadi

I got this wonderful book as part of Bri's Fundraiser and was positively excited & couldn't wait to try out the recipes.... Thank you Pratibha & Jigyasa. My daughter refers to it as 'my paati book' & pretends to read it :) It's a beautifully written book and the warmth & passion for cooking that Pedatha exuded is evident in every page. After reading that Pachadis held a special place in pedatha's kitchen, I wanted to pick one as my first recipe and soon the big, round eggplant that was meant to become an Eggplant Parmigiana turned into a spicy, stunning Vankaya Pachadi.

VANKAYA PACHADI (Brinjal Chutney/Thovayal)


Ingredients:
Brinjal (Big, Bharta variety) - 1 big (make sure it's light for it's size => lesser seeds)
Tamarind Pulp - 2 tbsp
Oil - 2.5 tsp
Salt - to taste

For Tempering:
Urad Dhal - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
Methi (Fenugreek) seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red Chillies - 6 to 8
Green chillies - 3 to 4
Curry leaves - 10 to 12
Coriander leaves - half cup, chopped
Asafoetida powder - a couple pinches

Method:
1) The recipe calls for roasting the brinjals over an open flame but I've not had good luck with that, so I just microwaved it after coating with some oil instead. Remove the skin & mash it.

2) In a pan, heat oil for tempering, add the gram and when golden add mustard & fenugreek. Switch off the flame and with the browning of fenugreek, add the red chillies. When they turn bright, add the reamining ingredients for tempering.

3) Grind this tempering, with tamarind and salt into a coarse paste, without adding water and mix this paste with the mashed, brinjal pulp.

4) When mixed with rice and ghee & served with vadaams, it made for a lip-smacking meal.

[I may have gone a bit overboard with the coriander leaves so mine is greener than the one in the book ]

Comments

  1. Pachadi looks yummy. My eyes are on the two rice balls ready to be popped in...

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  2. yummmmy!!! simple n easy recipe... thanks for sharin it

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  3. i dont have that book so bookmarking this :)

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  4. Vankaya means onion in tamil. i am searching where is the onion? pachadi looks nice & yummy.. thxs for sharing... new for me...

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  5. I too was thinking same like Srikars Kitchen! Then I realized after reading;D
    Looks yummy!

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  6. I could hit myself, i saw this book in the shops when i was in Insia and didn't buy it.

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  7. Looks very nice...we too make this..so I know how tasty it must've been...

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  8. Me too was searching for onions...hahah, loved the presentation

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  9. Mouthwatering vankaya Pachadi Laavanya :))I too make this its my favorite one.

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  10. i loved this recipe.. will def try it out..it looks yummy

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  11. Interesting, all the vankaya pachadis I've seen before are shades of purple (put it down to limited experience!) I love it, it's one of my favourites.

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  12. Wow vankaya pachadi color is amazing ! It is green , excellent recipe :)

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  13. Looks so green and yum. You must try sending it to the Green event by sunshinemom

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  14. looks fabulous! and a wonderful color.. I love anything with eggplants, got to try this for sure..

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  15. looks delicious with the rice as balls..

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  16. those rice balls look cute....never tried brinjal pachadi...sure will try..

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  17. Yummm recipe, look divine and lovely presentation!!!

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  18. woo simple and elegant one...two rice balls looks mouthwatering..

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  19. Pachadi looks yummy.....good one...

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  20. Wow! I love this recipe...a good change from the usual bharta recipe that i make and am sick of :)

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  21. As commented before , I also thought this was something to do with onions..
    Nice one..looks delicious..

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  22. Looks lovely and yummy..love the pic too much...gud one dear

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  23. Thats nice one! Keep more recipes coming from Pattis book :-)

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  24. hehe :D those rice balls are so cute!! Pachadi looks so green and nutritious

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  25. Vankaya Pachadi looks so spicy and delicious Laavanya! Yum!

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  26. This looks real yum! And quite easy to prepare too...thank you for sharing!

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  27. yeah..i thought it was kotthamali chutney..looks delicious...may give this a try making it your way...i have been thinking to buy that book too..

    Rajitha

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  28. wow..dear that sounds really yummy that too with vadagam..mmmmm....

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  29. looks d-lish! also liked the milagu kuzhambu, hv book mrkd it to be tried soon :)

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  30. anything taht had brinjal is my fav and this dish is no exception :)

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  31. Thank you all for taking some time to drop in your views/thoughts. I apologize for not replying to each of you individually.. Have been quite tied up at work this week...

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  32. Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

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