
Preeth C.Vijay
Ennai Kathirikaai Kuzhambu/Brinjal Curry
Freshly ground masala, stuffed inside the brinjals this mildly spiced and thick curry with steaming hot rice would summarize a perfect meal. You need not necessarily have a side dish to go with it; the perfectly cooked melt in mouth brinjal inheriting all the tanginess and spice in enough to finish off your meal.

I know its plenty of oil used in the recipe, but that defines the name of the dish. Do not compromise with the amount of oil, that makes the curry delicious.
Ingredients
Brinjal 10
Shallots 12 chopped
Tomato 1 chopped
Tamarind 1 big gooseberry sized ball
Salt as needed
Sesame Oil 8 tablespoon
Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon
For Fresh Masala
Sesame oil 2 tablespoon
Urad dal 1 tablespoon
Coriander seeds 1&1/2 tablespoon
Chana Dal 1 tablespoon
Red Chilli 8 to 10
Pepper 1/2 teaspoon
Fenugreek 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds 2 teaspoon
Garlic 5 cloves
Shallots 10 to 12
Tomato 2 chopped
Curry leaves 2 sprigs
Coconut grated 3 tablespoon
Coriander leaves 1 tablespoon chopped
How to Start
First lets make the masala needed for the gravy. Heat a kadai with 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Add Urad dal, chana dal, coriander seeds, red chilli, black pepper, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and fry until golden. Set aside. Now in the same kadai, heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil.
Add garlic and onion first and fry until onion turns translucent. Add tomato, curry leaves, coriander leaves and sauté until tomato is soft and mushy. Add grated coconut and fry for a minute. Let it cool and grind everything together into a smooth paste adding little water and salt.
Soak tamarind in hot water and extract juice. Discard the pulp.

Clean the Brinjals. Slit the brinjals in to 4 but keep the stem intact. Cut until 3/4 th of brinjal. Do not cut the brinjals until bottom. Just cut half way and little more down. Stuff the ground masala inside the brinjal.
Set aside the remaining ground masala.
Now heat a pan with 2 tablespoons sesame oil and temper with mustard seeds. Add 10 finely chopped shallots, let it fry. Now add tomato, salt and cook until it gets mushy.
Arrange the stuffed brinjals in the pan and top with remaining sesame oil. Let it get cooked well in low flame. Keep it covered with lid for 15 minutes.
Flip the brinjals in between for even cooking. Scrap the bottom if it sticks. Once the brinjal is well cooked, add the remaining ground masala, and tamarind extract. Add around 3 cups of water, mix well without lumps. Check for salt. Add if needed. Let it cook under medium flame for atleast 20 minutes, until oil floats on top.
Serve with steaming hot rice.