Appetite Treats: Curry

Eggplant and Chickpeas in a Tamarind based Gravy

I have come again with yet another recipe using the chickpeas. Yes, i love the black chickpeas or kala channa over the white variety. Adding them to soups and curries or making a salad or just snacking on them, i can have them in any form. There was some chickpeas left from making soup the other day, well i intentionally wanted some leftovers.

Anyways, talking about this curry, i always love tamarind and coconut based curries, they are like comfort food for me, when mixed in hot rice with a dollop of ghee you're in food heaven. I had a huge eggplant sitting in the fridge and i don't really make anything besides this puzhi Kuzhambu ( a tamarind based curry) with the vegetable. Since i had some chickpeas, i added it to the gravy along with the eggplant and it turned out super delicious. I also added some coconut paste to thicken the gravy.

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Eggplant and Chickpea Gravy

By Sathya Sankar
Serves 2-3 people

INGREDIENT

1 medium sized eggplant, cut into cubes

1 medium sized onion, diced

1 small tomato, chopped finely

1/2 cup black chickpeas or kala channa or kondakadalai, cooked

2 tablespoons freshly grated coconut

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds or methi seeds

curry leaves, a hand full

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 tablespoon thick tamarind pulp

salt, to taste

water, needed for the gravy

METHOD

Make the tamarind pulp by soaking a lemon sized ball of tamarind in hot water for 10minutes. Squeeze out the pulp and set aside.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the mustard seeds, once it splutters add the fenugreek seeds and curry leaves and then add the onions and garlic to it.

Saute the onions until they start to soften,now add the tomatoes and sauce till tomatoes are soft and mushy.

Throw in the spice powders and mix well.

Add the diced eggplant along with the chickpeas and mix well to incorporate.

Now, add the tamarind pulp along with salt and water, mix well and let it come to a boil. Cover with lid and let it cook on medium flame for about 15 minutes or until the eggplant is cooked through.

To make the coconut paste, add the coconut and fennel seeds along with enough water to make a paste into a blender, blend to a paste and add it to the gravy.

Check for salt and it to a boil for 5 minutes or until the gravy thickens, remove from heat.

All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos without prior permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own words and link back to Appetite Treats.

NOTES

Using black chickpeas is totally optional and you can make the same gravy just with eggplants.
Adding some boiled peanuts instead of chickpeas will also taste great.
Adjust the spice powders according to your taste, the amount i have given will make a medium spicy gravy.
Coconut paste is totally optional, but if you want a good thick consistency then i will recommend adding it.
The gravy goes well with hot rice and chapati and dosa.
Adjust the level of tamarind according to your taste, mine will be not be so tangy so i added a lemon sized.

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, by sathya

Chettinad

Chettinad Egg Curry | A rich and aromatic curry made with freshly ground spices

I have always liked chettinad cuisine for its spiciest curries made with freshly ground masalas. This egg is curry is one among them and the freshly ground spices makes the curry very aromatic. There are so many other versions of chettinad egg curry but most of them are prepared using more or less with the same basic spices.

Egg curry is one of the easiest, when you are left with no options on what to make for lunch or dinner.It goes well with rice or roti.

CHETTINAD EGG CURRY
By Sathya Sankar
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 medium sized eggs

2 small tomatoes pureed or 2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 large onion, chopped

a sprig of curry leaf

1 green chili

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 no green cardamom pods

salt, to taste

INGREDIENTS TO DRY ROAST & GRIND

2 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

3 no dry red chili

1-inch piece cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

3 tablespoon grated coconut

METHOD

Place eggs in a pan and cover with cold water, eggs should be immersed completely in water. Bring the water to a rapid boil, then immediately remove from heat, cover and let it rest for exactly 10 minutes. Drain the water, roll the eggs around to crack the shells, then fill the pan with cold water and allow to stand another 5-10 minutes. Peel the shells and make a small slit lengthwise and keep aside.

In a pan on medium heat dry roast the spices given under TO ROAST & GRIND until the spices are lightly toasted, add the coconut at last, mix well and remove from heat. Once the mixture cools down, grind them into a fine paste by adding water.

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and wait for it to splutter, add the cardamom pods, bayleaf and crushed garlic, stir gently.

Add in the onions, curry leaves and green chili. Salute until the onions are soft and fully cooked.

Add the ground paste along with turmeric powder and chill powder. Mix well and cook until the masala releases oil on the sides of the pan.

Add the tomato paste and cook for few minutes. Add water and salt, mix well. Cover with a lid and let the mixture boil for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add in the eggs. Check for salt.

Leave the lid open and let the curry boil for few minutes until it thickens to desired consistency. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve over rice.

All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos without prior permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own words and link back to Appetite Treats.

NOTES

The amount of dry chili and chili powder given can be adjusted according to the spice level you prefer.
I haven't specified the amount of water for the curry. It depends on how thick you want the curry to be, so add it to your preference.

Hello there! Thanks for visiting Appetite Treats! If you liked this or any of the other recipes here, feel free to leave a comment below.

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, by sathya

Curry

Chicken Curry with Yellow Rice

Hi folks! remember me??? can't believe its been almost an year since i posted a proper recipe. The year 2012 had been treating us wonderful so far, we relocated from United States to Singapore in March. It was a very big move for us both physically and mentally and took us quite a long time to get adjusted. And now iam back with a wonderful recipe to get started...

Yellow rice one of the dishes that is usually found common is many srilankan households, whether it is a party, a small get together or an elaborate wedding. I have grown up eating this dish in each and every special occasions. Yellow Rice or Kaha Bath, as called in sinhala ( Sinhalese mother tongue) is just a simple rice dish cooked with coconut milk. It goes very well with any veg or non-veg curry.

Yellow Rice

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked basmati rice
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1 bay leaf
1 pandan leaf or rambha, cut into 3 pieces
3 green cardamom pods
2 tablespoons butter
2 to 4 green chillies
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 cup diluted coconut milk
2 cups water
salt, to taste

Method:

Soak the rice for 1 hour. Pour out the soaking water and wash the rice in several changes of water, until the water runs clear. Leave it to drain in a fine meshed strainer for about 10 minutes.

Heat ghee in a large sauce pan over medium heat and add the bay leaf, cardamom pods green chillies, pandan leaf and onion. Saute until the onion turns golden brown.

Add the ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell disappears.

Add the rice and saute for 3 minutes. Add the water, coconut milk, turmeric powder and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover the pan and cook until the rice is done, 10 to 12 minutes.

Do not stir in between. Remove from the heat and let the rice rest, covered for about 5 minutes. Fluff it with fork and serve.

Chicken curry can be cooked in so many ways and i follow this method as it is much easier to cook . Just throw in all the ingredients in the pressure cooker and you are ready with a tasty chicken curry.

Chicken Curry

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1/2 kg chicken
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 tablespoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoon pepper powder
2 green cardamom pods
1 1/2-inch cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 sprig curry leaf
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1 tablespoons coconut oil
salt, to taste

Method:

Wash the chicken and keep it aside.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker over medium heat. When hot, add the cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon, curry leaves and onion, fry until the onion turns golden brown.

Add the ginger garlic paste and tomatoes and cook until the raw smell disappears and tomatoes turn mushy.

Add the chicken, all the spice powders, water and salt.Saute well for about 3 minutes. Cover and let it cook in a medium flame for 3 whistles.

Once the pressure is released, open the lid, at this stage the curry will be little watery. Switch on the flame to medium heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes or until the curry has thickened.

Add the coconut milk and coriander leaves. Mix well, taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.

Serve hot.