Vankay Pachadi-Eggplant Chutney

This is a recipe carried over from my Grand mom to my mom and then to me.In our house we always have on chutney,one curry and one rasam,charu or sambar for each of our meals.Theres nothing like starting a meal with a chutney with some melted ghee.

Preparation time:20 minutes

Serves:8

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1/2 teaspoon tamarind paste

6-8 green chilies(adjust as per your taste)

2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon chana dal

2 garlic cloves

1 sprig curry leaves

salt as per taste

2 tablespoons oil

Procedure:

1.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and add eggplant and roast for 3-4 minutes until a little sear is obtained. Cover with lid and let cook until soft. Let cool.

2.Add the eggplant, green chili, tamarind paste, salt and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and grind to a smooth or coarse paste as per your choice(I like it in a smooth paste).You can saute all green chili and keep a few aside before grinding so you can adjust if you think you need more spice.

3.Heat the remaining oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them splutter, add the chana dal and let brown lightly, add cumin seeds and curry leaves and let splutter

Tips:

Eggplant oxidizes very quickly so do not keep it outside after cutting it, either directly put it in the pan and saute or place them in a container with salt water to prevent oxidation.