Vankaya Kothmir Kaaram (Eggplant with cilantro chutney)

As I mentioned earlier, this blog is all about recipes old, borrowed and inspired, and umm..some original ones in between. Now I have have always enjoyed reading food blogs, recipes and indulging in conversations around cooking, it was more than ever now that I started this food journal. It’s almost like every conversation these days sparks an idea to try something new and it’s amazing how inspiration can strike. Sometimes it’s from a restaurant menu, lunches and dinners at friend’s houses or just plain food talk!

So I was out at lunch with my “lunch buddy” at work, Padma, at a soup and sandwich place, and sure enough, our talk meandered to good food combinations. I think for me, it was more because my soup was a little bland for my taste, so I figured that talk about spicy food might make it better? So Padma got talking about the quick and easy eggplant curry she had made the previous evening and how good it tasted with hot, steaming white rice. I have to add that she is not only a good cook but an eloquent foodie…it tempted me enough to try it at home the very evening. Padma is from Andhra hence the original name of the recipe..Vankaya Kothmir Karam. Thank you, Padma for your contribution to this blog.

Ingredients:

Small eggplant (7-8), chopped into cubes

I also tried this recipe with the long Japanese eggplant and did not find much difference in taste except that the long ones cook faster. Any guesses for which one I recommend for this already quick recipe?

Green chilies – 4-5 (depending on how spicy you want the dish to be)

Cilantro – a big bunch

Oil – 1 tbsp

1. Heat a heavy bottomed vessel or kadai and add the 1 tbsp oil.

2. When the oil is hot, add the chopped eggplant to it. Turn the flame to medium heat and let the eggplant saute in the oil for a while, till it starts to look a little mushy and the oil starts to seep.

3. In the interim, grind the cilantro and green chilies to a fine paste  with some salt in a blender.

4. Now add the cilantro paste to the cooked eggplant and simmer on low fire for about 10 minutes till well cooked.

5. Enjoy with steaming hot rice!

The recipe does not call for any tadka or seasoning, as the cilantro-green chilies provide all the flavor for this dish.

(I couldn’t get a great picture of the finished dish. The last picture with the cilantro paste is not of the finished dish but just minutes after I added the cilantro paste. You will need to cook it for about 10 minutes more after adding the paste!)