One of the best dishes we have made declared my wife. So it must be good. Takes a bit of time in roasting each spice individually, but it is well worth the effort.
Ingredients:
10-12 small eggplants (brinjal), slit into quarters but leaving the stem intact.
2 medium onions
2C tomato puree
1C peanuts
2T channa daal (split garbanzo beans)
1 inch cinnamon stick
2t Tamarind paste
1t cumin seeds (jeera)
2T coriander seeds
3T sesame seeds
4 red chilies
4 cloves
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch ginger. chopped [rml_read_more]
4 green chilies
1C coriander leaves, chopped
1C mint leaves, chopped
1T poppy seeds (optional)
Method:
The first step is very important- individually roast all the dry spices, except cumin and the channa daal. For each, the timing will vary. Usually, till they start to smell nice or toasted lightly. Heat oil in a wok and add the cumin. Within a minute or so, add 1/3rd of the onions. Saute them till they are golden brown. Meanwhile, dry grind all the freshly toasted ingredients and blend the rest of the ingredients including the onions but except the tomatoes. Once the garlic, onions, etc have blended, add the dry ingredients and mix well. Once the onions in the wok has turned golden brown, add the tomatoes and slow cook them till they mixture separates from the sides easily. This might take about 10 minutes. In a separate pan, saute the eggplants till they are nicely brown on the outside and a bit soft on the inside. Once that is done, add the blended mix to it and slow cook for about 10 minutes. Add the sauted eggplants to it and cook on very low heat for another 15 minutes or till the eggplants are a bit (but not too) mushy. Enjoy with chapati or naan.
