Vankaaya Vepudu (Brinjal Fry) - Recipe

A family favorite especially during festive meals. Eggplants aka Vankaya hold a special place in a typical Andhra meals especially on festive days or wedding feasts. For Ugadi our lunch spread would have been incomplete without this subtle sweet-flavored stir fry. Simple to prepare, the key to this recipe is a blend of ginger-garlic-fresh coconut which imparts a nice aroma and flavor.

Ingredients:
1/4 kg purple brinjals, cut into quarters
1 chopped large onion
big pinch turmeric pwd
1 tsp coriander pwd
1/4 tsp cumin pwd
1 tsp red chilli pwd
1 1/2 tbsps oil
salt to taste
For seasoning/poppu/tadka:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
10-12 curry leaves
Make a paste:
6-7 garlic cloves
small ginger piece
1 1/4 tbsps grated fresh coconut

Method :

1 Heat oil in a cooking vessel, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Add the curry leaves and onions and saute for 3 mts.

2 Add the quartered brinjals and stir fry them for 5-6 mts without lid. Stir fry inbetween to ensure they don’t burn or stick to the pan. Add the ground ginger-garlic-coconut paste and combine well. Add salt and turmeric pwd.

3. Saute without lid for 4-5 mts till the rawness of the paste disappears. Add coriander pwd, cumin pwd and red chilli pwd and combine.

4. Place lid and reduce flame and cook till the brinjals have cooked completely and turned soft. Turn off heat. The stir fry will appear almost like a gooey mass (mudda kura).

5 Adjust salt and serve with hot rice.