Vankayai allam koora - a koora (side dish) that brings home the freshness of earth

Just when I was losing faith in the Groundhogs' abilities to predict weather accurately, they returned with a bang on Feb 2nd and declared we were going to have winter for another 6 weeks. How would you contest such accurate prediction :-)? What would we do without these lovable creatures? Though that wasn't the greatest of news, I admire their accuracy, they are way better than most of our weathermen in TV channels. Now that they are done with their one important task of the year (is there anything else they do other than hibernating and popping up once a year?) and met expectations (don't you think the bar is pretty low here!!) and returned underground to continue whatever they were doing, I am left here to stay warm and wait patiently for the onset of warm weather. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about winter but I don't mind seeing the mercury go a little higher on the scale. Whether it is Spring yet or not, I am itching to bring Spring into my kitchen. Today's recipe is one such that brings that whiff of Spring and freshness with ginger.

Spring is somehow wired in my brain as the same as clean, fresh and crisp air and flavors. While there are many herbs and spices that make this happen in the kitchen, ginger definitely tops the list. Combined with the sharpness from green chilies, this masala really elevates fresh vegetables. No powdered spices in this koora, just some tender eggplants sauteed with freshly crushed ginger and chilies and seasoned with a few crunchy dals and mustard, simple enough? This koora works perfectly with rotis or rice.

My advice is to use fresh ginger, take them to a mortar & pestle or another device that lets you crush it. The flavors of ground ginger Vs grated ginger Vs crushed ginger is very different and this recipe definitely loves the crushed version. If you were thinking of using that store bought (or even home made a couple of weeks ago and refrigerated) ginger-green chili paste, please do not do it. There is nothing complicated about this recipe so spend a little time on using freshly crushed ginger.

I have written many posts about eggplant recipes and have also talked about my late blooming love for them. If you are in the mood for reading my eggplant musings just hit the search button and look up other eggplant recipes. My family (except for DD) is of the group where they will give anything for a well made eggplant dish and do not complain if this humble vegetable made its way to their plates every day :-). So our eggplant recipe repertoire is pretty vast as you can probably imagine.

This is a heirloom recipe that is found commonly in most East Godavari Telugu homes. Crushed ginger and green chilies make a really fresh tasting dishes. I add curry leaves because they are one of my favorite flavoring agents in the kitchen. You can replace eggplants with potatoes, and then who doesn't love the spuds?

When I prepared this koora for the first time on my own, I went and looked for the smallest green brinjals thinking that they would be the tenderest ones and hence tastiest too. BH remarked that it had to have some seeds and not be really tiny. He is the expert and I accept my mistakes generously. So the next time I brought home slightly bigger ones and the koora was definitely tastier. So here is my tip to all of you newbies. The tiny ones are picked before they can develop any flavor and they also shed jackets (or skin) as they cook which is not a great experience while eating. The medium sized ones (about a big lime) are the best suited for this koora as they give a meaty texture to it. Pick eggplants that look fresh, are green without any black spots or tiny holes on the skin.

If you noticed, I used both terms - brinjal & eggplant, in Indian cooking there is no difference between the two as they belong to the same general family :-). Local languages distinguish each variety by size and color as pedda vankaya (big eggplant), tella vankaya (the green ones with white interfaces used in this recipe), nalla vankaya or gutti vankaya (usually the small, round purple). I hope the pictures in the post help.

NOTE: Pictures are from 2 different days, the lighter colored one does not have turmeric powder (I do forget sometimes :-)) and also has a Tbsp grated coconut added to it. The original recipe does not have coconut and the dish really doesn't need coconut, but some of you regular readers here already know about my weakness with coconut :-)

What do you need to make vankaya koora? 
8-10 small green brinjal/eggplants
1.5 inch fresh ginger
3-4 green chilies (adjust to your spice tolerance)
6-8 tender curry leaves
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Seasoning: 
1 Tsp oil
1/2 Tsp mustard
1/2 Tsp chana dal
1/2 Tsp urad dal
1-2 pieces of dry red chilies (optional)
1/8 Tsp asafoetida/hing

How do you make vankaya koora? 

• Wash the eggplants, remove the stalk end and chop into cubes (really tiny ones are just made into half, medium sized ones chopped into quarters)
• Immediately immerse chopped eggplants into a fresh bowl of water. 

• Heat a wide pan and add 2Tbsp of oil. 
• Strain the water and separate the eggplant pieces. 
• Add the eggplant into the hot oil and stir once so the pieces get coated with oil. 
• Reduce the heat to medium, add salt and turmeric powder, mix once.

• Cover and cook for 5-6 mins on low heat or until the pieces become fork tender.
• Wash, peel and cut ginger into small pieces.
• Take ginger pieces, roughly torn curry leaves and green chilies to a mortar & pestle and crush them into a coarse paste. 

• Once the eggplants are tender, add the ginger-chili paste and give it a good mix. 
• Cover and continue to cook for 2 mins until the flavors mingle well. 

• Switch off and transfer to a serving bowl. 
• Heat the oil for seasoning, add mustard, dals, red chilies (if using) and asafoetida. 
• Let mustard pop and dals turn light pink. 
• Switch off and pour the seasoning over the koora. 

• I prefer to mix the seasoning just before serving as they retain the crunch. 

Notes: 

• Select tender and bright green eggplants. The ideal size is typically a big lime size. 
• Crush the ginger- chili fresh, do not use stored paste for this recipe. 
• We like the ginger flavor, play with the amount of ginger and green chilies you want to use in this recipe as spice tolerances vary.

Stuffed vankaya koora - baby brinjals stuffed with a decadent masala

Given my family's love for this vegetable, this post should have featured on the blog eons ago, it should have been in the first 10 posts atleast. I deliberated so long as I think have a plan to present recipes in some semblance of order on this blog. I am sure there are a number of stuffed brinjal recipes out there and I myself make stuffed brinjals in atlest 4 different ways. Before anyone thinks of the famous Hyderabadi Baghara Baingan in their heads while reading this post, let me make it clear that this is not what you are thinking :-). This curry is a dry version with soft to bite brinjals. This recipe is a family recipe and makes use of a powder that is always found in my MIL's and my kitchen since we also use it for other purposes. I try to use much less oil than the previous generations of ladies that have made this recipe but devise ways to preserve the texture and taste intact. Look out in the Notes below for some tips on how to cook a brinjal that is perfectly masaledar from head to toe (I mean one end to the other :-)). This is a non-gravy curry and is well suited as an accompaniment for either rice or roti. In our home, amma usually makes a dal or a yogurt based side dish on the days we have this Gutti Vankaya koora. This so far is the only way a brinjal finds itself in DD's plate and stomach.

Brinjals and okra are two of the most sought after vegetables I have found especially in Indian communities living abroad. If you ever watch people in an Indian vegetable store, you can actually infer a lot about their cooking and eating habits in addition to their life styles, it is a great Sherlock Holme's experience in human psychology that helps you hone your observation and deduction skills. There are passionate ladies standing right infront of bins of precious vegetables such as baby brinjals, tender okra and covering up the space entirely so no one else even has a chance to dip into the bin until they have filled their bags to their heart's content. They will give you dagger eyes if you so much as try to fill your bags from the other end of the bin. There are guys continuously getting instructed live on their cell phones stuck to their ears by their wives at home and trying to grab the priced veggies before they are gone. They are slightly lacking in 'vegetable picking' skills and keep asking whether a green colored brinjal is better or a long okra is good for the planned menu and act based on the response from the other end. You will find awkward looking bachelors who come in groups or atleast pairs, all of them having started cooking recently since they left home. They are in the store having chatted with mom on Skype the previous evening or earlier in the morning, hoping to get their share of vegetables that mom mentioned and make some food over the weekend that tastes like home, they have a lost look trying to spot what was described to them on Skype but not finding the exact thing. Then there are disinterested teenagers who have been dragged to the store with their moms and have a look on their faces that says, "what the heck am I doing here" while constantly checking their text/FB messages on a cell phone. And Summer times here is usually exploding with visiting parents that my daughter calls it GP (Grand Parent) season which we look forward to in our home too. The grand parents visiting for the first time have a shocked expression on their faces looking at the prices and having converted it into Indian currency while more experienced returning grand parents stroll through the store aisles much more calmly. I know this is a very stereotyped vision but I find it every time I go to the grocery store here and am amused by it.

Nammamma used to have an 'all purpose powder' called palyada pudi for daily use as the base in many preparations. She had a trick of embellishing the basic powder with a few other ingredients to bring in the right flavor in each dish. This was such a convenient and time efficient way of doing things. I always admired how she used the same powder in a tantalizing badanekaayi ennegaayi (a dish so popular in karnataka that I definitely need a separate post to write about, so more on it later) or a yummy Vangibhath while making sure they both tasted different, I guess that kind of precision comes only with experience.

When I got married, everyday food was quite different from what I was used to before,  it almost always had a pappu (dal sans vegetables), koora (mostly dry vegetable curries) and a pachadi and I noticed Amma had 2 distinct powders that she used in the curries. One was called menthi koora podi - obviously had methi/fenugreek in addition to other ingredients and was used for various brinjal preparations. The other one she called 'ghuma ghuma podi' :-) literally meaning a fragrant powder and had cardamom in it and was used in curries made with cabbage, bottle gourd etc. Brinjal stuffed with the first type powder is a very frequently found dish in her kitchen and I have loved it since the first time I had it. Adding chopped onions to the stuffing is the only difference I have made from Amma's recipe since I like the crunch and taste of onions in the masala. I picked it up from one of BH's cousins when she made this delicious stuffed brinjal for us in her Chennai home. So it has evolved a little bit from the previous recipe but the soul is the same from atleast 3 generations that I am aware of.

Since our intake of curries in the traditional form is limited to either weekends or lazy holiday times, I don't make these powders in bulk nor do I store 2 kinds of powders. Instead I have drawn inspiration from both nammamma and amma and combined a few ingredients to make my own koora pudi which works for most curries. While you can make this powder as you need for the stuffing, I prefer to keep a jar full of the powder and sprinkle it in a few other curries as it imparts a wonderful aroma. If you are making the powder just for the stuffing, go ahead and add the peanuts while roasting the other ingredients and make it into a powder with the rest. Since I keep a stock of koora podi (see below) and peanut podi, I mix them and prepare my stuffing.

How do you make koora podi? 
1 cup chana dal
3/4 cup coriander
1/4 cup urad dal
1 Tsp mustard
1 Tsp fenugreek seeds/methi
1/2 Tsp black pepper
1 Tsp cumin/jeera
12-14 Red chilies (adjust to taste based on the variety of chilies used)
2 pieces of 1 inch long cinnamon/dalchini
2 cloves
1 cardamom/elaichi
1 Tblsp oil
1/4 cup grated dry coconut

How do you make the Koora podi?

• Heat the Tblsp of oil in a wide pan on medium heat, add all the ingredients listed above except for the dry coconut and fry with constant stirring until the dal gets roasted and mustard pops, takes about 7-9 minutes. 
• Add the grated dry coconut and continue to fry for another minute. 
• Switch off and let cool. 
• Powder the ingredients in a mixer into a fine powder and store in an air tight container until ready to use. 

What do you need to make stuffed brinjals? 

6 small purple brinjals 

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

4 Tblsp koora podi

2 Tblsp peanut podi

1 Tsp salt

1/8 Tsp Turmeric powder

1/8 Tsp asafoetida

1/4 Tsp sugar

1 Tblsp chopped cilantro

4 Tblsp oil - divided use

How do you make stuffed brinjals? 

• Wash, pat dry the brinjals and make two perpendicular slits from its bottom (non stem end) all the way to the tip of the stem ensuring you do not cut the brinjal open into pieces. 
• Put the cut brinjals immediately into a vessel filled with water to avoid oxidation. 
• Mix the remaining ingredients except for oil in a bowl and set aside for 2-3 minutes until the juice from the onions wets the masala powders and brings them together. 

• Taste and adjust the powder at this stage. 
• Hold the stem end of a cut brinjal in your left hand (if you are left handed, reverse this instruction) and stuff the brinjal GENEROUSLY with the masala making sure it reaches all the way till the very bottom of the stem end. - This is important for a great tasting stuffed brinjal else you will be biting into a very tasteless, bland brinjal as you come closer to the tip. 
• Press the stuffed brinjal gently in your fist so the powder doesn't fall off. Repeat for all brinjals. 
• Heat 2 Tblsp oil in a wide pan and arrange the stuffed brinjals (step up) in a single layer in the pan. 

• Reduce heat to low, cover and cook without disturbing for 6 minutes. 
• Take the lid off, gently move the brinjals around so all the sides get a chance to cook evenly, drizzle oil it the pan looks very dry, continue to cover and cook. 

• Repeat the process for the next 25-30 minutes or until the brinjals are cooked on all sides, look soft but holding their shape. 
• Add the remaining prepared masala on top, cover and cook for 2-3 minutes until the masala loses its raw smell of onions. 
• Switch off, keep it covered for another 5 minutes before serving. 

• Garnish with chopped cilantro if you like.

Notes: 

• If you are making the powder for the sole purpose of stuffing the brinjals, add 1/4 cup of raw peanuts to the above and follow the rest of the procedure. 
• Choose healthy (no dents or black spots), fresh looking purple brinjals. smaller ones cook faster while bigger ones take time, so make sure you select all brinjals to be even sized for proper cooking. 
• Be really generous with the stuffing and stuff it all the way to the tip but do not break the brinjal open. This is the trick to a delicious in every bite stuffed brinjal.
• Prepare enough masala to stuff the brinjals and also keep some to top the curry later.
• Covering the vessel during cooking results in tender brinjals without taking up a lot of oil as the steam helps the vegetables cook. 
• Ensure the heat is kept at low-medium throughout the process as burnt brinjal or the masala spoils this curry entirely. 
• I find it easy to cook this dish in a wide pan with handle so I can move the brinjals around without breaking them into pieces. 

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..