Vankaya Pachidi

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Number of servings: 3-4 persons

Everyone has heard about those eggplant fries and curry's, but what about a pachidi made exclusively as a side dish for steamed rice? It’s a completely new concept to you, isn’t it? We have never thought of trying a dish with the sole purpose of it becoming a side for a specific dish before. But, isn't listening to all this making you curious? Does it not make you want to taste it too? Well, you can do so, and do so very easily. All you have to do? Follow a few simple steps to make the dip yourself.

Ingredients


Brinjals - 1/4 kg
Water
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Green Chili - 4 no
Red Chili - 4 no
Urad Dal
Cumin seeds
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves
Garlic cloves
Tamarind (soaked in water)
Chopped Coriander leaves
Oil
Mustard seeds
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1 no
Urad Dal
Cumin seeds
Curry leaves
Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp


Method

First, wash the brinjals well and then cut off the top. Cut the brinjals into medium sized pieces.



Take a bowl of water and add a little salt to it.



Drop the cut up brinjal pieces into the water. This would prevent the brinjal discolouring.



Take a wide saucepan and add some oil.



Add the brinjal pieces (after draining the water) to the pan.



Now, add the chilies to the pan, a mixture of urad dal and cumin seeds and mustard seeds and mix well.



Now, give a quick stir with a tsp of salt to the pan. Close the lid of the saucepan and let the brinjals cook for about 10 minutes on a low flame.



Now, add a few curry leaves, cloves of garlic and some soaked tamarind pieces and chopped coriander leaves and mix well.



Let the mixture cool down. Once cool, empty the contents into a mixer jar and grind it into a fine pachidi.



Add a little oil in a wide saucepan for tempering. Now, add the mustard seeds, chana dal, red chili, urad dal, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida powder to the pan one after the other.



Now, add the ground pachidi to the saucepan and mix well.



Empty the pachidi into a bowl.



Your pachidi is ready to be served!





Best with:

This bowl of brinjal pachidi tastes best when had with some nice steamed rice. Add a little bit of ghee to enhance the taste. You can also have it with some chapatti or roti if you wish to!