Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Vankaya Bagara (Brinjal Bagara)




I have tried this recipe from the book ‘Kantamani Vantakalu’. It was amazing…I only replaced the poppy seeds with cashew nuts because I could not get poppy seeds...

No wonder, it was the favorite curry of Tenali Ramalinga who was a famous poet during Sri Krishna Devaraya's time…


What you need:

The first thing you need to make this curry is PATIENCE…


Small tender purple coloured brinjals-7
Chopped fresh coriander-a few
Curry leaves-a few
Tamarind pulp-2 tablespoons
Oil-4 tablespoons

For grinding:
Roasted ground nuts or peanuts-3 tablespoons
Cashew nuts-5
Coriander seeds-1 tablespoon
Grated coconut-1 tablespooncinnamon-a small piece
Cloves-4
Cardamom-2
Ginger-a small piece
Garlic cloves-3
Onions-2
Green chillies-3
Red chilli powder-1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder-1/4 teaspoon
Salt-1 tablespoon




How to make:

Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste. Wash and make two longitudinal slits in the brinjals. Do not cut them completely. Fill them with the ground paste and heat the oil in a pan. Add the brinjals and the remaining paste. Cook them on a low flame to make sure that they do not open. Cook until the brinjals change in colour and become soft. Now add the tamarind pulp, curry leaves and 1 cup of water. Cook them for 5-6 minutes on a low flame after covering them with a lid and stir at intervals. Once the oil separates from the gravy, add the chopped coriander leaves. Stir it well and turn off the stove after the gravy gets the desired thickness. Serve it with jeera rice or plain rice or chapathis…


Note: After slitting the brinjals, check inside to make sure that they have not gone bad...

7 comments:

FH said...

OMG! Looks so delicious Vijaya. I have to go to Indian store to get those round Brinjals here, do get long purple ones easily. I will try this as soon as I get brinjals, bookmarked.

Thank you so much for cooking and posting from this book. I love old yellowing cookbooks which has the best traditional recipes than the fancy glossy photos with not so good recipes! :)

Daily Meals said...

Hi Asha! I tried this recipe for you only:) We all liked it...even though we are not fans of brinjal...Now I am going to make this frequently...

Suganya said...

This is my fav. Looks so good. Turned out perfect for u. YUM!

Anonymous said...

Looks so delicious.

Daily Meals said...

Thank you Sukanya:)

Thank you Aparna:)

Bhawna said...

Even i'm not very fond of brinjals, but trusting ur words going to make it very soon. Will let u know. Thanks for the recipe.

Daily Meals said...

Hey Bhawna! Thank you. Please do give it a try. I hope that you will like it...