Phodi - A desi version of Italian eggplant parmesan (no parmesan though) :-)

It has been a long time since I shared the books on my night stand and the movies I watched, I thought of doing this as part of today's post especially because I am back to reading this new year and also have been watching movies fairly regularly. And timing can't be better with Oscars 2017 just a few hours away, right?. Well, I was writing the draft of the post (as you can imagine) earlier this afternoon and got to posting the final version only now (after watching the Oscars) :-). Did you watch it? Any favorites? I have only seen 'Arrival' so far this year, the others 'Hidden Figures', 'Moonlight', 'La La Land' and ofcourse 'Fences' are on the list, will get to them slowly, may be on the tube if not in theaters. But I am glad to be back to reading books at my old pace. Two of the things that make me really happy in this life - a pile of good books and a pantry full of raw materials. Books to help me in and out of any situation and pantry grounds me to the current moment, focus on the basics. I currently have a bagful of books on my nightstand and two of them are by the same author recommended by a friend. I also recently watched a wonderful movie on the recommendation of another friend. Both suggestions were spot on and I loved both the books and the movie :-).

A dear friend who is also a published author recommended William Trevor to me recently. I am always partial to short stories, I feel like a well written short story has the potential to make a greater impression in a few short pages than a long, elaborate novel. While novels provide a wide space and a broad brush to slowly and deliberately introduce characters, build the story line and express emotions, short stories do not offer any of this luxury but infact demand that the writer be totally convinced about what (s)he is trying to convey in the tight space. Only a very able writer can do justice to paint a lingering image within a span of a few pages of his/her writing. A well written short story can be very powerful while a badly written one can fall flat on its face. William Trevor makes reading short stories a pleasure and I am hooked into his style of writing and the characters he brings to life with his narration. Having finished both 'A bit on the side' and 'Cheating at Canasta', I am on a waiting list for his 'Collected Short stories' next :-). Thanks J for the recommendation, not sure how I never got to his books earlier.

Another friend S mentioned Helen Mirren's "Woman in Gold" on Netflix to me. With HM in the lead I didn't need additional push in the direction and watched it last weekend when I was home alone while BH was busy at some conference. Based on a true story, the movie deals with the recovery of a piece of art with a very intimate personal connection. As any work with the Nazi Germany, this movie has the power to put a knot in your stomach but I enjoyed watching the movie. It is still on Netflix and definitely a watch worth its time. Again, thank you S for the lovely chat and the movie reco :-)

Do you have books or movie recommendations? Something that you enjoyed spending time with? Share them in the comments.

Moving on to the recipe today, here is a deceptively simple and delicious snack, appetizer, side dish made with eggplants. Depending on your mood, you can serve this as a starter or main course. I first tasted this a decade+ back at one of BH's colleague's home when we went there for dinner. His parents were visiting and as R & wife had two young kids that demanded the parents's time and attention, aunty had taken charge of the kitchen. They are originally from Gokarna, the beautiful northern karnataka temple town and aunty's food was everything I had read and imagined from that region. The ease and skill with which she rolled out soft akki rottis and served them hot off the griddle for the ten of us while making it all look so effortless is something I can never forget. I most definitely remember calling nammamma that night and telling her all about aunty's cooking :-). After all these years, I don't exactly remember the entire spread (it certainly was a spread) but one dish that became an instant hit with us was this 'phodi'. She had made them with eggplants and potatoes and kept them ready even before we reached their home and served it along side the akki rottis for dinner. Yumm!!

Eggplants and I have a long history, it started with me completely hating the vegetable and staying miles away from it to decidedly ignoring it when it made its way to my plate to falling in love with nammamma's vangibhaath to enjoying the delicious gojju to totally changing sides with amma's stuffed vankaya. I am sure many of you can relate with this, it is not a vegetable that has universal appeal of the spuds but everyone in my family with the exception of DD loves this simple, nutritious and healthy vegetable. The only way DD eats this vegetable currently is in the form of this phodi and sometimes the stuffed version. I exploit that shamelessly and make this often so she gets to eat the vegetable and hope that someday she will be a convert just like her own mom :-). BH on the other hand can eat this phodi all by itself and call it a meal, such is his love for the humble eggplant.

Being an ardent Olive garden fan, DD called this Indian eggplant parmesan since it resembles the Italian dish in looks :-) but the name is misleading as the ingredients and taste is very different as is the cooking method. If you love eggplants and like the texture of tenderized/shrivelled eggplants and are trying to skip cheese and Italian seasoning, this is a perfect dish. Go ahead and give it a try.

What do you need for Phodi? 
1 medium sized eggplant
3 Tbsp oil
Spice mix: 
3/4 cup upma rava/sooji
1 Tsp red chili powder
1 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp coarse crushed black pepper
1/4 Tsp asafoetida
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder

How do you make Phodi? 

• Wash and pat dry the eggplant, cut both the stem end and the opposite end.
• Cut the eggplant in discs of about 1/4 inch thickness and keep them immersed in a bowl of water to avoid discoloration.

• Heat a heavy (preferably cast iron) griddle on medium heat and let it heat up (a sprinkle of water should immediately sizzle)
• Take a wide plate, add all the ingredients listed under spice mix and mix them uniformly. 
• Taste test a pinch and adjust salt, chili powder or black pepper to suit your taste.

• Make sure the pan is hot, drizzle a couple of drops of oil and smear it all around the pan and reduce heat to low. 
• Take an eggplant disc from water, shake away all the water and dredge it in the dry spice mixture to form a thick & even coating on both sides. 

• Lay the eggplant disc on the hot griddle and repeat for as many pieces as your griddle can hold. 
• Drizzle drops of oil on and around the eggplant discs, cover and cook for 2mins. 

• I use a glass lid for this so I can see the progress of cooking from outside without having to lift it multiple times :-)
• Once the top layer is moist and the disc looks a little shrivelled, gently lift each one and turn it over. 

• Let it cook for another minute and half, add a drizzle of oil on top. Do not cover while cooking the second side. 
• Take the discs off the griddle when both surfaces have reached your desired color and crispiness. 
• These taste delicious hot off the griddle and equally yummy when they cool down making it an easy lunch box item or a make ahead item for a party. Just warm it up before serving. 

Notes: 

• Eggplant tip: Select one that feels heavy for its size. Also look for seedless varieties of eggplants. Get one that is dark purple in color and is not squishy.  
• You can use potato slices, sweet potatoes instead of eggplant
• Cooking time varies with the heat and the thickness of the discs
• Always cook this dish on low heat allowing the vegetable to cook thoroughly and not burn the outer surface. 
• Covering while cooking ensures moisture is captured and the vegetable cooks in its own juices. 
• It is important to keep the spice mix as dry as possible until you are done. Avoid water drops falling into it too much, if you are making a large batch, I suggest you take out handfuls of the mixture into a separate plate and replesnish as you need.  A wet mixture doesn't stick well on the vegetable. 
• Do not skip asafoetida or turmeric as it brings a distinct flavor to the dish. 

Roasted eggplant pachadiS - Vankaya pachadi 2 ways with the same roasted egg plant

This is a vegetable I have gone on the spectrum from 'I don't like' to 'I don't care if you make it' to 'Hmm, this is kinda nice' to 'wow, this is really yummy'. Growing up in Mysore, we used to get the slender, light green, about a finger long brinjals called 'eeranagere (name of the place) badanekaayi (brinjal in Kannada)' and Nammamma made delicious Vangi bhath with it. This variety has enough meat to hold shape when cooked but not become watery or goopy like the other varieties. Then there was the purple, small, round mullu badane kaayi named so because of the thorny texture at the base of the brinjal. These tasted divine when made into ennegaayi or a dryish sort of curry with home made spice powder. I have not found the long, light green variety anywhere here in the market though sometimes I have come across the longer, purple ones which have a buttery texture and generally seedless. During Summer, I also get a white brinjal and shades anywhere in between the white and the dark purple.

I had not eaten any other kind of brinjals until I got married. And then things changed :-). When the vegetable finds its way on the lunch/dinner plate atleast 3-4 times a week, my take on it was 'if you have to eat it, you better enjoy eating it' but then I found myself actually falling in love with it. Amma makes a number of side dishes with this vegetable and the most common varieties we get home are either the small, round, purple ones or the large, seedless eggplant. With a slight change of spices or the way it is cooked, the vegetable transforms into a delicious side dish. I am a convert now and enjoy this vegetable in all its glory.

Eggplants or brinjals or Aubergines as they are called are low calorie, high nutrient vegetables. Just watch the way you cook and the amount of oil used and you can prepare a delicious side dish that is also healthy.

Of the many different ways Amma cooks this vegetable, here is one of my most favorite one. I love, love the charred, fire roasted flavor of the eggplants. Though it is a messy way of cooking and leaves your stove top begging to be cleaned, the flavor from open fire makes this curry extremely delicious. Since I do not own a gas stove anymore, I use a couple of tricks to get as close to the smokey flavor as possible. If you have a gas stove, go ahead and roast the egg plants directly on the flame, be forewarned that the juices will flow out as the vegetable cooks and get settled on your stove top (not a pretty sight and definitely not something you would like if you like a spotless kitchen :-)).

I said 2 pachadis in my title of this post, so here is how that works. You roast the eggplants in the same way, half the pulp (or any other division depending on which version of the pachadi you favor more) and then proceed to make the 2 really yummy pachadis. You don't have to make both on the same day, infact we don't. I just made it for the ease of photos and blending them into a single post. Amma usually serves the one with tamarind as a side dish to fresh Kandi podi rice and the one with yogurt is typically mixed with hot rice. But, there is no food police out there and you can enjoy them any which way it pleases you. So let us get started, shall we?

How do you make roasted eggplant pachadis?
Variation 1: Tamarind based a.k.a Vankaya pulusu pachadi
1 large eggplant (see notes for selection)
1 lemon size tamarind
1/2 Tsp crushed/grated jaggery
1 Tsp salt
2 Tblsp finely chopped onion
Seasoning: 
1 Tblsp oil
1 Tsp mustard
1/2 Tsp fenugreek seeds
3-4 dry red chilies (broken into pieces)
1-2 green chilies broken into pieces(optional)
1/8 Tsp asafoetida
4-6 curry leaves
1 Tblsp finely chopped cilantro
1 Tsp chana dal (optional)
3/4 Tsp urad dal (optional)

Variation 2: Yogurt based a.k.a Vankaya Perugu pachadi
1 large eggplant
1.5 cups home made or store bought plain yogurt
1 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp sugar
Seasoning: 
1 Tblsp oil
1 Tsp mustard seeds
1 Tsp cumin
1/8 Tsp asafoetida
4-6 curry leaves
3-4 dry red chilies broken into pieces
1-2 green chilies broken into pieces

How do you prepare the eggplants for the pachadis? 

• Wash and pat dry the eggplant. 
• Brush a drop or so of oil all over the surface of the eggplant. 
• Make some incisions all over the eggplant with a sharp knife, this helps the eggplant to cook uniformly without it bursting open. 
• If you have a gas stove, roast the eggplant on the flame, turning it once in a while to ensure even roasting. 
• If you do not have a gas stove, you can either do this on a grill (heated to the maximum setting) or oven roast the eggplant at 400F for 50 minutes to an hour turning it once or twice in between. 

• If you are oven roasting the eggplant, once it is done, switch the oven to high broil and keep the eggplant inside for 2-4 minutes just to get a faint smokey flavor. 
• Take out the eggplant and let it cool slightly. Chop the stem end and discard.
• The skin will come off easily to your finger pull, take out the skin and mash the pulp gently to a coarse paste. You can put this in a food processor or chopper and give it a quick whirl to get the right consistency. 

• Below are the 2 ways you can make the pachadi, choose either one that appeals to you or make both of them as I did today :-).

How do you make Vankaya Pulusu pachadi? 

• Soak tamarind in water for about 30 minutes to soften it and extract juice. Add water to make about a cup and half of tamarind juice, keep aside. 
• Heat oil in a pan, add asafoetida, mustard, fenugreek and the dals (if using) and let the mustard start to pop. 
• Add the broken red chilies, curry leaves and mix it in. 
• Add the chopped onions and fry until they turn soft and pink. 
• Add the salt, jaggery and tamarind extract. Let it come to a boil.

• Switch off the stove, add the mashed eggplant pulp and the chopped cilantro and give it a good mix. 
• Vankaya pulusu pachadi is ready to be eaten, as I said it makes a good accompaniment to Kandi podi anna or patholi and hot rice.

How do you make Vankaya perugu pachadi? 

• Take the yogurt, salt, sugar in a bowl and whisk it into a smooth blend. 
• Add the mashed eggplant pulp and mix it well. 
• Heat oil in a pan, add asafoetida, mustard and cumin and let mustard start to pop. 
• Add the red chili pieces and curry leaves. 
• Pour the seasoning on top of yogurt mixture and give it a mix.
• Enjoy the delicious, cool pachadi with rice or roti.

Notes: 

• Select eggplants that feel heavy for their size, these will have good amount of core in them and also stand the heat well. 
• As it cooks, the eggplant shrinks in size and the juices will start oozing out. You need to cook until it feels soft when poked with a knife or the back of a spoon. 
• For the tamarind based pachadi, the onions do not have to be very tender, a little crunch adds to the texture. 
• Both pachadis do not have a lot of spices and are generally milder, you can bite into the green or red  chilies for an extra dose of spice while eating :-)
• Tamarind based pachadi is usually of pouring consistency while the yogurt based pachadi is more of dropping consistency. So adjust the tamarind water for the first one. 
• The tamarind extract needs to just come to a rolling boil for this recipe and there is no need to thicken the sauce. 
• Taste the tamarind mixture as it boils and adjust salt, jaggery as needed. The pachadi is a slightly tangy, with a hint of jaggery in it. 

Kara Kulumbu - A Chettinad delicacy for Blog Hop Wednesday

Back again with another Blog Hop Wednesday and this time I am paired with the gal who started the blog hops, Radhika of Tickling Palates. I always think about her seemingly never ending supply of energy when it comes to blog posts and blog events. At any time, she has one or more events going on. Being a blogger, I know how much time and coordination they require and admire her for what she does.

I have always wanted to cook a Chettinad curry at home ever since I tasted this on one of our restaurant visits. Though, I was not bowled over by what I had that day, I always leave a pretty big margin when it comes to restaurants cooking up what they advertise as 'as good as home made', I was definitely taken up by the burst of flavors it had. I was looking for an authentic home made recipe and found it when Radhika posted this a couple of months back. Just didn't know I would actually make it for the blog hop :-).

Radhika tells you that the Chettinad vegetarian recipes do not get their due credit, I won't know about the non-vegetarian dishes as I haven't tasted them. There is nothing understated in the taste of Chettinad recipes, the flavors are bold and the burst of taste is quite a mouthful. It is an acquired taste and may take time to grow on some people. What I loved was the rich texture and the balanced mix of ingredients. I made a few changes from Radhika's original recipe, I used a combination of almonds and cashew nuts (5 almonds+2 cashew nuts) as I am quite nutty about healthy nuts. I replaced the black eyed peas with black chana or Kadle kalu since I had them handy and lastly reduced the amount of garlic from the original recipe to suit my garlic tolerance.

What do you need to make Chettinad Kara Kulumbu?
4-5 small purple eggplants (about 1 cup when chopped)
1 medium sized drum stick (4-6 pieces if you are using frozen)
15-20 pearl onions (more the merrier, I love them)
1/2 medium sized tomato - chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup cooked black chana/kadle kalu
Dry powders:
1 Tsp red chili powder
1 Tsp sambar powder (I used my home made huli pudi, replace with any equivalent sambar powder in the market)
1 Tsp dhania powder
Others:
A small gooseberry sized tamarind soaked in water for 20 minutes (use 1/2 Tsp tamarind concentrate)
1 Tsp salt - adjust to taste
1 clove garlic - chopped fine
2 Tblsp oil
1 tsp mustard
1/2 Tsp cumin
4-5 black pepper corns
4-5 curry leaves
To grind:
2 Tblsp grated coconut(fresh or frozen)
1 Tsp saunf
1/2 Tsp poppy seeds/gasagase
6-8 nuts (I used a combination of almonds & cashew, you can use either as you prefer)

It was a cloudy, masked up sky outside and had limited light which is the excuse I am giving for the picture quality

How to make Chettinad Kara Kulumbu?

• Soak poppy seeds and the nuts in warm water for about 30 minutes.
• Soak tamarind in water for 30 minutes and extract the juice. Skip this step if you are using tamarind concentrate.
• Soak the black chana overnight and pressure cook it until soft but holds shape.
• Heat oil in a wide pan, add mustard and let it splutter. Add cumin, black pepper, chopped garlic and curry leaves. 
• Add the pearl onions after 30 seconds and let it cook until it starts to turn light pink. 
• Add the chopped eggplants, drumsticks and tomatoes, give it a good mix. 

• Add salt, cover and let cook on medium heat for about 8 minutes. 
• Add the chili powder, dhania powder and sambar powder.
• Add the tamarind extract and let it cook for a minute. 
• Add the cooked black chana and continue to cook until eggplants and drumsticks turn soft.
• Grind all ingredients noted separately above into a smooth paste adding water as necessary. 
• Add the ground paste to the vegetables, adjust consistency with water and let it come to a boil. 

• Switch off and serve warm.

Notes: 

• You can increase the garlic per taste. 
• The gravy thickens once it cools, so adjust the consistency while boiling it.
• Make sure the eggplants hold shape and are just cooked for a great taste.

Here goes my kulumbu off to the 21st Blog Hop Wednesday..