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 ]