Vankaya~Urlagadda Vepudu:
Brinjals and Red Potatoes ~ Babies Dressed up in Kobbari Kaaram
Last weekend, I purchased these baby brinjals and tiny red potatoes at an Asian grocery shop. Tender and cute, they are about one to one and half inches in size, like small night bulbs. I pressure-cooked the potatoes but for brinjals, following my mother’s philosophy of “less we do, the more the brinjal’s delicate flavor comes through”, I just made two small slits in plus shape and steam-sautéed them. Within ten minutes, the lavender colored brinjals turned to beige and fork-tender. Once the brinjals were done, I just added the potatoes and the kobbari kaaram podi. That’s it, a nice side dish was ready for our meal today.
Small Night-bulb Sized Baby Brinjals and Baby Red Potatoes
Recipe:
Peanut oil – 1 tablespoon
Curry leaves 6, cumin and mustard seeds – Pinch each
Onion, thinly sliced lengthwise – half cup
Baby brinjals (1-2 inches long) – 10, cut in plus shape
Baby red potatoes – 10, pressure-cook or boil to fork-tender
Kobbari kaaram podi – 4 tablespoons
Turmeric and salt – ½ teaspoon each or to taste
In a wide skillet, heat peanut oil. Add and toast curry leaves, cumin and mustard seeds. Add onion and fry to soft.
Add the brinjals. Sprinkle about two tablespoons of water. Cover the skillet and steam-saute the brinjals to tender, stirring in-between. The young brinjals turn to fork-tender quickly, in about 10-15 minutes.
Add baby potatoes. Sprinkle kobbari kaaram podi, turmeric and salt. Gently mix and cook another 5-10 minutes on low heat. Serve hot. It’s a good side dish to have with rice and sambar or pappu chaaru.
Brinjal-Potato Saute with Kobbari Kaaram and Tomato Pappucharu mixed with Rice ~ Brunch today
Indira,
seems such a simple yet lovely dish, and your weekend Seattle pic looks so inviting
Comment by Sreelu — August 20, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
I am salivating right now!!! The dish looks yummy!
Comment by Sudha — August 20, 2007 @ 12:13 pm
Looks really delicious Indira!
Comment by Latha — August 20, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
i love the combo of brinjal and potatoes, my mother uses kobbari in brinjal, I havent used it here anytime…
Comment by Dee — August 20, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
Cute babies 🙂
Comment by Madhuli — August 20, 2007 @ 9:53 pm
mmmmm I am drolling Indira. Paruppu rasam with such a nice curry is divine. I am right there to have it now 😉
Comment by Nirmala — August 20, 2007 @ 10:42 pm
This post has boosted my confidence in my own cooking instincts no end! I only discovered Indian cooking a couple years ago, and while I love to experiment, I often wonder if authentic Indian cooks would be shocked at my creations. When I saw your recipe for kobbari kaaram a few days ago, I thought it would be just the thing to spice some lightly sautéed eggplant, along with cumin-mustard seed-curry leaves-ginger. It was indeed delicious! And I’m glad to see that, in this case at least, my instinct was just right.
Comment by Another Nina — August 21, 2007 @ 12:58 am
Hey Indira,
great combination. I love anything done with brinjals. Baby potatoes are like tiny drops of heaven.
I loved your pic of the park. Do you really walk in such a scenic park? Now I am jealous….
One more thing, your photography skills are amazing. We are so busy complimenting you on your culinary skills that sometimes we ignore the pics you take.
Comment by spandana — August 21, 2007 @ 8:05 am
Love caption for a superb recipe 🙂
Comment by musical — August 21, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
The dish looks wonderful. I love potatoes, ths dish is a must try. I tried ur vankaya pacchadi yesterday and it was very tasty, bth me and my hubby loved it.
Comment by ranjitha — August 21, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
Sreelu, Sudha and Latha: thanks.
Dee: Me too. Brinjals and potatoes make great buddies.
Madhuli: They are cute, aren’t they?:)
Dearest Nirmala: you are always welcome to our home.
Hello AN: That’s how I feel when I experiment classic recipes here. I guess such feelings are unavoidable. I am happy that you went with your instincts.
Brinjal and/or potatoes with kobbari kaaram – it’s a classic Andhra recipe. At Nandyala, we use regular sized brinjals and potato pieces, here I used the small baby sized ones.
Hi Spandana: Thanks.
Yep. Please don’t be.
Attending AR concert. Now, that’s jealous-worthy.:)
Musical: Thanks.:)
Ranjitha: Vankaya pachadi, yum! Glad to hear that you tried and liked it.
Comment by Indira — August 21, 2007 @ 9:46 pm
You are more than welcome to move to sunny city of dallas, Texas. Then you can attend all kinds of shows. I am offering this invitation more for my convenience than yours… it would be advantageous for me if a person who cooks like you do moves to my city. what say you?
Although, you gotta do some benefit analysis, most scenic and terrainous place with rivers and ocean versus flat and barren country with not enough water to drink….. but with occasional shows by rehman and the likes…hmmm…
Although I know that several musicians perform quite regularly in seattle…
Comment by spandana tummuri — August 22, 2007 @ 6:37 pm