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.
Vankaaya Vepudu Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 30 mts
Serves: 3-4
Cuisine: Andhra
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1/4 kg purple brinjals, cut into quarters
1 large onion chopped
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
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 in between 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. 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.
