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May 27, 2009

Roasted Eggplant Pickle (Vankaya Bajji)

Yum! The name itself makes my mouth-water. This is my most favorite kind of pickle with eggplant which is so aromatic and delicious. I have blogged about another kind of Eggplant Chutney before, in which we dice the eggplant to make chutney. In this recipe we use whole eggplant without its skin that was roasted to perfection.

Ingredients:

  • 1 big, plump Eggplant, washed well
  • 4 or 5 dry Red Chilies or Green Chilies
  • 1 Tomato, chopped
  • Handful of Cilantro Leaves, chopped
  • Some Curry Leaves
  • ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
  • ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
  • ½ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
  • ½ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
  • ¼ tsp Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
  • A pinch of Turmeric Powder
  • 1 tsp Tamarind Pulp
  • 2 tsp Oil
  • Salt to taste


Preparation:

First we need to roast the eggplant until it becomes soft. Here are some methods to do it:

  1. Place the eggplant on top of a stove with medium flame and roast till the skin becomes soft and mushy. Turn the eggplant to all sides to roast it equally on all sides.
  2. Pierce the eggplant with a fork or knife at different places, as it helps the air from the eggplant to escape without exploding in the MW. Then place it on a MW-safe plate and microwave for 4 minutes on high and then flip it over and run the MW for another 2 minutes or until the eggplant feels soft and mushy when squeezed gently.
  3. Place the eggplant (again after piercing it with a fork or knife) on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until eggplant appears to be soft and mushy.

I used stove-top method, because I like the burnt flavor. When it’s done, place the eggplant on a plate to cool it down for some time. If you’re in a hurry and want to handle the eggplant when still hot, best method is to place the eggplant in a bowl of water and peel the skin so that your hand won’t burn.

When the eggplant becomes cold, peel off the skin with hands (it’s so easy!). Take the pulp into a
different bowl and mash it well with a fork or a potato masher. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + Bengal Gram + Black Gram + red chili or green chili+ curry leaves and fry for some time until the dals turn golden brown in color.

Then add the tomato pieces and fry well until tomato becomes soft. To this, add the mashed eggplant + turmeric powder + tamarind pulp + cilantro and mix well. Leave it on low flame for 5 minutes. Then remove it from the stove and leave aside to cool.

When the mixture becomes cold, add it to a blender jar and grind until soft. No need to add extra water as eggplant already contains some water in it. Adjust salt and transfer the pickle to a serving bowl.

Enjoy this yummy, aromatic chutney with steaming hot rice and ghee.


45 comments:

Priya Suresh said... [Reply]

Spicy eggplant pickle looks delicious...would love to have few spoons immediately...

Deepthi Shankar said... [Reply]

lovely chutney, that looks very yumm

Unknown said... [Reply]

your chutney recipes are cerainly droolworthy!!!looks so delciious..

chef and her kitchen said... [Reply]

Just now i had my lunch and chking this, you should hv sent this to me Uma i would hv enjoyed with my meal..looks yummy..

Suparna said... [Reply]

hey uma,

this one sure is a finger licking dish, so spiced up and mouth watering. looks great with the red chilies garnish.
TC

jayasree said... [Reply]

Absolutely mouthwatering pic.. spicy and delicious. Would love to have with some hot rice and ghee.

Finla said... [Reply]

One of the best roasted eggplant dish i have ever soon, super yumm.

Unknown said... [Reply]

Yi la nooru ooristara yemi bagoledu hummm realllllllly a finger licking recipe uma..........

Gita Jaishankar said... [Reply]

They look so inviting...I can finish off that whole bowl in one sitting :)

Unknown said... [Reply]

looks yummy, we also make this, i just love the roasted eggplant flavor. you dish reminds me to make this soon.

Vrinda said... [Reply]

Never thought of making pickle with eggplant..sounds yummm

lubnakarim06 said... [Reply]

New to me.......looks droolworthy...

Raks said... [Reply]

You know I have misunderstood this one for tamil vengaya bajji once :P

So this is how originally its made!! Thanks for the recipe!

Srilakshmi said... [Reply]

This is my fav pickle! Nice recipe!

raaji said... [Reply]

I once tasted this at a friends place...i liked the idea of making it from roasting the brinjal....

Srivalli said... [Reply]

oh my uma..that bajji is what my mil keeps telling me..:)...looks delish!

Sunshinemom said... [Reply]

Looks maha spicy and maha tasty!!

Kalai said... [Reply]

My mother's made a similar chutney with roasted eggplant. Love that flavor!!

Usha said... [Reply]

Looks spicy and yum !

Poornima Nair said... [Reply]

Eggplant pickle sounds interesting..sure looks delicious.

Dori said... [Reply]

Wow, that looks so spicy and delicious!

Nandinis food said... [Reply]

This pickle is absolutely marvelous! Looks......slurrrrpppp! I want that bowl here (yeah, of course with the pickle!) tee hee!

Pooja said... [Reply]

Eggplant pickle looks awesome!

Nithya Praveen said... [Reply]

I love eggplant...lovely recipe.We make sumtng similar to urs...we call it Thogayal (thicker chutney) and eat it with rice.Am templted to make what you've posted.Looks very tempting:-P

Vaishali said... [Reply]

My mouth's watering too! Thanks for this delicious recipe, Uma. I am surely going to try it-- eggplant's possibly my favorite veggie.

Laavanya said... [Reply]

The smoky roasted flavour must make this super delicious.

Samahita said... [Reply]

Amazing. this is exactly how I make eggplant bhajji :-D though i also add onions and tomatoes to it.

Unknown said... [Reply]

Wowwww..thats something new to me..looks absolutely delicious..

Unknown said... [Reply]

Looks tangy n delicious Uma!

anudivya said... [Reply]

I need to try this, never made such a thing with eggplants before, and I am guessing this would be simply delicious.

Pooja said... [Reply]

Yummy chutney Uma..Remembering the days when i had this at my ammamma place..

Cham said... [Reply]

Pickle with eggplant is absolutely deletable!

chef and her kitchen said... [Reply]

Glad to know that u stayed in HK b4...yeah it is such a lovely place to live in,breathtaking views everywhere...whr u used to stay in HK??

Saritha said... [Reply]

Yummy chutney,brinjal is my fav.Your version sounds interesting.

Priyameena said... [Reply]

Pickle with egg plant what a cool idea..

Varsha Vipins said... [Reply]

wowww..Thats one thick rich yum pickle Uma..I like the pulpy flavorof roasted egg plant..Pickling would be apt for it..:)

Mahimaa's kitchen said... [Reply]

delicious... my mouth waters too. i love roasted eggplant dishes like baingan bartha. this one sounds so good.

Hari Chandana P said... [Reply]

Hi I am a new blogger..

vankaya is my favvv... and nice to see u here..bocz u r also frm andhra kada.. thank u

notyet100 said... [Reply]

ummmm,...just need bowl of plain rice,..

Purva Desai said... [Reply]

this is really a unique pickle....will try this soon, thanks for sharing

dsdsds said... [Reply]

That was a new recipe for me. Thanks for stopping by on my blog!!

Cynthia said... [Reply]

This, I want to eat with some thick sada roti and a large cup of tea :)

ST said... [Reply]

Mouthwatering and delicious Pickle...

Red Chillies said... [Reply]

seems almost like a cousin of baingan bhartha.

Anonymous said... [Reply]

Looks yummy! Must be heavenly with rotis!

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Thanks for dropping by! Your comments and suggestions are most welcome. Hope to see you again! -Uma

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