Mahanandi

Living in Consciousness ~ Indi(r)a’s Food and Garden Weblog

Brinjal-Ginger Curry

Purple Brinjal - Indian Variety

In old times, the marriage feast in our areas always included brinjal-ginger curry. Considered a classic both in taste and aroma, brinjal-ginger curry brings out the best of both ingredients.

Recipe:

10 round brinjals – (purple or greenish-white)
1×1 inch fresh ginger
4 green chillies
4 sprigs of fresh cilantro
½ tsp of salt and turmeric each
For popu: 1 tsp each – mustard seeds, cumin, urad dal, curry leaves and 2-3 pieces of dried red chillies

Preparation:

Brinjal: Wash and cut brinjal into bite sized pieces. Take water in a vessel; add 1 tsp of salt and mix. Add the cut brinjal pieces to this salted water. This is again an old-time tip, to prevent discoloration and onset of sourness in cut brinjals.

Ginger: Scrape the skin and wash. Finely chop ginger, green chillies and coriander. Add pinch of salt, make a smooth paste in a mortar or using a blender, without adding any water.

Curry: Heat one teaspoon of peanut oil in a wide pan. Add all the popu ingredients listed above and toast them till the seeds start to splutter. Take cut brinjal pieces from water, fistful each time, add them to the spluttering popu ingredients. Stir in the ginger paste and turmeric. Mix them all together, reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover with a lid and cook, stirring only once for about 10 minutes. When the curry starts to smell incredible, pieces turn to soft, sprinkle salt, mix and turn off the heat. Serve with rice and dal.

Brinjal Curry, Tomato Dal and Rice - Our Lunch

Brinjal-Ginger Curry, rice, tomato dal and little bit of ghee – savoring the tasty stroll in Andhra food heaven.

note to readers: Add salt at the end (so that brinjals can cook fast) and the recipe works only with fresh green chillies, don’t substitute with red chilli powder.

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Amma & Authentic Andhra,Ginger & Sonti,Vankaya (Brinjal) (Thursday January 26, 2006 at 2:36 pm- permalink)
Comments (23)

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23 comments for Brinjal-Ginger Curry »

  1. Wow Indira! this looks yummy!! Brinjals are my favourite veggies, so I’m definitely making this!! :o)

    Comment by Meena — January 26, 2006 @ 2:54 pm

  2. You are going to like it.:) Try it and let me know, Meena.

    Comment by Indira — January 26, 2006 @ 3:19 pm

  3. I am not too fond of ginger but with brinjals I might try them. Btw read in one of your earlier post about your Nikon. I have been wanting to buy a Nikon D50. Can you tell me where you got yours (everyone seems to have a differing price)? Thanks

    Indira replies…
    Hi Aswini, we purchased it from B & H online photo shop (you can find the link in ‘shopping’ in blog’s side bar). We got a good deal on it.
    Nikon D50 – good choice, another fabulous camera.

    Comment by Aswini — January 26, 2006 @ 4:08 pm

  4. This curry reminds me of my mother’s cooking.
    There never was any family occasion or event in my home where we didn’t have this curry. It was more often had with tomato pappu just like the picture shows.
    It is an all time favorite with everyone in my family from grand parents to uncles, aunts, cousins.
    I always wanted to try it out here but somehow i never got to making it. I didn’t want it to taste something else and erase all the memories i associate with vankaya kura and tomato pappu.

    Indira replies…
    Same in our families too. This is one must curry for any occasion back in the days, just like you mentioned.

    Comment by jasper — January 26, 2006 @ 4:24 pm

  5. Hi Indira,
    This is my first mail to u..just to let u know that I have been hittng ur blog frequently from the past 15 days(even when @ work too)…Vow!!!Its soo great to find a terrific cook like u in the neighbourhood(not exactly in the neighbourhood..i know… its like 6 hrs drive from Chicago)..But feel like dropping by ur home(for ur nice dishes ofcourse :-)) when I come to visit Lord Balaji there in Pittsburgh.
    being a great fan of Vankaya.. I am surely gonna try this.
    Good going ..!!!!
    Keep up ur high spirits!!!
    Cheers

    Indira replies..
    Hello Sri, very nice of you to say all these nice things about my blog.
    You are always welcome to my house. Do drop by when you visit Pittsburgh. I think, our town is on the way.
    Please let me know how this recipe turns out in your kitchen.
    Thanks and cheers to you!

    Sri

    Comment by Sri — January 26, 2006 @ 5:02 pm

  6. wow, look delicious. I have never heard this combo before.My love for brinjals started only after i tried all your brinjal recipes.And the tomato dal looks good too. hope to get the recipe soon;)
    thanks for sharing the recipe indira

    Indira replies…
    I guess now I can see how this recipe turned out in your kitchen, at your fabulous blog?
    I’ll definitely post the recipe of tomato dal soon. Thanks Priya.

    Comment by priya,ar — January 26, 2006 @ 5:34 pm

  7. WOW! Brinjals are my all-time favorite vegetable and we devour those in all forms. This one looks neat Indira.

    Indira replies…
    Thanks VKN.

    Comment by VK Narayanan — January 26, 2006 @ 6:02 pm

  8. Indira! I am salivating just looking at all the pictures! I am so glad I found your website! I’ve already bookmarked couple of recipes that I want to try out. Keep up the good work!

    Indira replies…
    Thanks Zeenat.
    Do let me know, how the recipes turn out in your kitchen.

    Comment by zeenat — January 27, 2006 @ 7:05 pm

  9. Indira, I learnt this simple yet tasty dish from my Telugu MIL (I am a north indian). Your pics brought back memories. Doesn’t the venkaya need to be ccoked on low (gas) heat? It would be great if you could also show us your cooking pans.

    Indira replies…
    Hi Sonu, I prefer this curry with brinjal pieces intact in shape, yet cooked and soft. If I use high heat, I had to stir it more often, this inturn makes the curry more paste like. Integrity of brinjal pieces will be lost.:) So I cook them on low or medium-low heat on a big burner.
    I’ve a set of 18/10 stainless steel cooking pans and saucepans and 2 iron skillets, one very old, seasoned one and the other one brand new with no patina atall, I use this for roasting peanuts, chestnuts etc., and a variety of iron tavas for dosa, chapati and sorghum roti. I accumulated all these, slowly one by one.

    Comment by Sonu — February 9, 2006 @ 8:41 pm

  10. Hi Indira:
    I tried this recipe, and this came out so good and I love the ginger flavour in it. So yummy and delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe:)

    Indira: You are an inspiration for me to start my blog, when you find time do visit my blog http://kitchenmate.blogspot.com/

    –Karthi

    Indira replies:
    You are welcome, Kirthi. This is my favorite too, glad you liked it.
    Thanks for your nice words, I’ve been to your blog several times, I liked it very much and added it my daily reading list.:)

    Comment by Karthi Kannan — March 17, 2006 @ 12:11 pm

  11. Indira

    Your blog is so interesting, I am so happy, I found it. I am discovering your recipes and you will be my bible for indian food.
    Thanks a lot.
    Best
    Jane

    Indira replies:
    Wow.. that’s a very generous thing to say about my blog. Thanks Jane.
    Do let me know how the recipes turn out at your kitchen.

    Comment by Jane — March 29, 2006 @ 7:31 am

  12. Hi, I’m an Australian living in China and I’ve been trying to introduce my Chinese wife to Indian and Sri Lankan foods;difficult with the different kinds of spices that are used here and lack of Sth Asian spices,but making a little progress. And now I’ve discovered your site – WONDERFUL !!! Thank you. I now I’ll have to modify and “make do” but I’m sure we’ll get lots of great ideas from you. Thanks again.

    Comment by Will Pascoe — June 8, 2006 @ 1:49 am

  13. Hi Indira,
    All your recipes are so mouth-watering. Thanks for all the tips you share with us.The photos are you publish are amazing. It makes ur website very unique and lovable.

    A small clarification on this recipe. My MIL always tells me that by adding salt, brinjals or for that matter any veggie cooks very easily as salt draws the water out of them. You have mentioned that salt be added at the end. Could you clarify please? Thanks, Jaya

    Comment by Jaya — September 12, 2006 @ 5:01 pm

  14. hi indra,i am new to ur site and its amazing.can u help me one of the recepie made with brinjal.coconut and channadal…it is some what similar to the one u made with aritikaya.can u plzz help me in this recepie.
    thanks in advance
    anu

    Comment by anu — September 20, 2006 @ 8:26 am

  15. Hello Indira Garu,

    I have been lounging for this dish since i left home.. Its been 12 years now, and the dish turned out to be perfect, like my mom’s dish.. Thanks a lot for helping me out in getting back to my childhood days, mom’s food, etc. etc.. You Rock!!!

    Comment by Naren — October 24, 2006 @ 5:04 pm

  16. looks tasty let me try it

    Comment by aju — December 3, 2006 @ 4:05 am

  17. Hi,
    Tried your brinjal ginger curry yesterday ..I used purple small brinjals.But somehow the brinjals weren’t cooked well.Any tips for cooking brinjals for newbies like me?Its not the first time I ended up with under cooked brinjals 🙁 I didn’t add any water while cooking,cooked covered on low-medium flame,but realised the brinjal pieces were getting roasted ,little blackish but was still raw when tasted 🙁 How long should we cook them this way? BTW,a great blog.Thanks!!

    Comment by swarna — February 26, 2007 @ 9:38 am

  18. Hi Indira,

    I just love your site. I am a North Indian housewife living in Bangalore who just loves Andhra food. A friend forwarded me the link to your site, and since that day I am hooked. I have tried quite a few of your recipes and they are very nice. Just one request I would love to get the recipes of the pappu that is served in Andhra hotels here with the meals and also the gun powder… Thanks a ton for making or meals special.

    Comment by Shwetha Mangal — June 19, 2007 @ 10:33 am

  19. hi indira..this is the first time visiting ur blog..its really good to see. I got this on google search..i actually don’t know cooking..but while watching ur recipes with pictures u know its really yummy..and i think dis is d gr8 blog..i really luv it..

    i m searching for brinjal curry with tomato but i couldn’t find ..all were with potato or else brinjal fry..so could u help me in making curry..thanks for ur delicious recipes..keep gng..take care..bye

    Comment by veelvy — November 13, 2007 @ 6:55 pm

  20. Hi Indira,
    I am also from Nandyal. I liked your recipes a lot. All my family is also liked your recipes.

    Thanks for your efforts.

    Hello Anil,
    Good to hear from a fellow Nandyala vaasi. Thank you for your nice notes on Mahanandi.
    – Indira

    Comment by anil madamala — January 11, 2008 @ 9:52 am

  21. Hi Indira, I am a working mom who loves vegetarian food however am not a natural cook
    🙁 can only follow recipes. I love the look of the baingan curry and will be cooking it tomorrow —- can I also cook this with the big baingan or does it have to be the small ones?
    Thanks!
    Nish

    Comment by Anisha — February 17, 2010 @ 10:23 am

  22. Thanks Indira for this simple yet delicious recipe. Brinjal hasn’t been a favourite in our family but after trying your dish, it currently is.
    Radhika

    Comment by Radhika — January 25, 2011 @ 10:13 am

  23. This is fantastic!!! Loved it. Made it this morning and it was polished off for lunch 😀

    Comment by Nolana — March 31, 2011 @ 7:33 am

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