Indian Vegetable Sides: Brinjal or Eggplant With Freshly Ground Spices

South-Indian cooking heavily uses four ingredients to prepare a common spice blend to season vegetables and lentil-based stews. The four ingredients are: bengal gram, coriander seeds, red chillies, and coconut. These ingredients are dry roasted (or roasted in a little oil) and ground to make a distinctly flavorful blend that elevates the taste of any simple dish.

So, it's no wonder that this blend is used to season and spice vegetables. In this version, brinjals (the small eggplant variety common in South-Asia) are stir-fried with turmeric and seasoned with this aromatic spice blend for a truly delicious vegetable side! This can also be mixed with rice for a really delicious brinjal-flavored rice called vaangi-bath. A small difference is that vaangi-bath is commonly prepared with green-colored eggplants that are first cooked by stewing in tamarind juice. Since it's next to impossible (currently) to find green eggplants in many places outside of India, regular brinjals are good enough substitutes. 

Commonly, really small brinjals are stuffed with this spice blend and then pan-fried for a crunchy and spicy dish called yenna kathirikkai. Since we don't get such small and tender brinjals here, I prepare this version, which is the deconstructed form of the former (plus this version takes way less oil)! My mom often prepares this at home.

This recipe can be used to prepare vegetables such as plantain, elephant yams, and other starchy but hardy vegetables. I know many people are not fond of eggplants/brinjals. But this dish might make them reconsider :)

Ingredients (serves 5):

1. 8 cups sliced brinjals / eggplant
2. 1/4 cup bengal gram / kadala paruppu / channa dal
3. 1/4 cup coriander seeds / dhania
4. 1/4 teaspoon vendhayam / methi seeds / fenugreek seeds
5. 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
6. 2-3 dry red chillies
7. 1/3 cup grated coconut
8. 1 tablespoon coconut oil
9. 2.5 tablespoons vegetable oil
10. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
11. 1/4 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
12. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
13. salt, as needed

Preparation:

1. Keep the sliced brinjals/eggplants soaked in water so that they don't oxidize. 
2. Dry roast the sesame seeds until they begin to change color, and transfer to a bowl. In a tablespoon of coconut oil, fry the bengal gram until it changes color. Remove the dal. 
3. In the same pan, add the coriander seeds and red chillies and fry until the seeds begin to change color. Remove from the pan. 
4. Roast the fenugreek seeds until they begin to change color. Remove from the pan. In the remaining heat of the pan lightly toast coconut and remove from the pan. Let all these spices cool. When cool, grind all the roasted ingredients to a coarse powder. 
5. Heat vegetable oil in a deep and wide pan. When hot, splutter mustard seeds. Add hing and turmeric powder and mix in the oil. 
6. Drain the brinjals/eggplant slices and add to the oil. Fry the brinjals/eggplant on medium heat and cook without closing the pan. After 5 minutes, add salt and mix and continue to stir-fry and cook. 
7. When the brinjals are almost done, add the prepared spice powder (reserving just a couple of tablespoons of it) and gently mix and cook for another couple of minutes until the brinjals are done.

Just before serving, sprinkle the remaining reserved spice powder.  Just serve as a side with roti, rice, or quinoa. Or mix with cooked rice.