Those who relish the taste of brinjal can’t resist this recipe. Brinjal is known to be a good cure for acidity (Gas trouble) as well. The cooking and the ingredients are simple. Only thing that we need, to cook it deliciously is the patience to be in the kitchen till the dish is done. I always make sure that I stay in the kitchen till my cooking is done. I have seen people doing hundred other works while cooking. May be that they are so efficient that they can manage so many things at a time. But I always feel that cooking will be perfect if it is done with care. Chettiar ladies are very particular in this. There will be only one lady in the house and nothing will be compromised. There will be a curry, Koottu and poriyal for lunch. The quantity of each item cooked will make us wonder and the vessel in which it is kept will be like the ones with which the kids play (choppu saman).I have heard my mom telling that my grandma will make cabbage koottu with the two outer layers of cabbage and beans poriyal out of 10 beans, if she alone is to have lunch. This it self is an example of the patience with which they cook. They used to have lot of time also. So they will spend an hour cooking sitting near the stove. But now days things are different. We can’t sit near the stove for hours. But we have very fast methods of cooking and we can make a feast within 2 hours. To be honest if we are in the kitchen for an hour in the morning we can finish the day’s cooking and forget about it for the whole day. So my kind advice to the youngsters is that don’t leave the kitchen with something in the stove. If you have only 10 minutes go for a menu and recipe which will get done within that time like rasam and potato. Choose the menu according to the time you have. Don’t pressurize yourself by attempting to cook something with in a very short time.
Coming to the brinjal fry, Select the brinjal which are tender (don’t have seed).many have a doubt of how to pick them from the market. The cap of the brinjal should be fat, green and thick .if you press the brinjal and see it should not be hard. We can make it out from the sight itself whether they are fresh or not. Make sure they are fresh too.
Ingredients
Brinjal-1/4 kg
Onion (big)-1
Garlic-10 pods
Tomato-1
Sambar powder-1 table spoon
Turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon
Fresh coriander leaves-little
Curry leaf-little
Salt-to taste
Oil-1 table spoon (be little liberal in using oil for this fry)
Procedure
Cthe brinjals as shown in the picture. Mince onion, garlic and tomatoes. Keep the kadai in the stove.s4eason the fry with a teaspoon of mustard, fennel seed and curry leaves. Add the onion and garlic pieces first and sauté for a while. Then add the tomatoes and sauté for a minute .Now add the brinjal and sauté nicely in medium fire for 5 minutes. Now it will be half done .In this stage add the turmeric powder, sambar powder and the salt. Mix everything well. Pour half a cup of water into the kadai now so that the brinjal pieces get cooked softly. Reduce the fire, close the kadai and cook for 5 more minutes or till the water gets absorbed and oil separates .Make sure that the brinjal pieces are softly cooked and get blended with the masal else add little more water and cook for a while. Garnish with coriander leaves. Corriander leaves along with brinjal will be excellent