Ennai kathirikai kuzhambu, kathirikai meaning brinjal / eggplant, and kuzhambu meaning curry. It is a very flavorful, and aromatic curry from the southern part of India, made with full whole roasted brinjals, then sautéed with onions, tomatoes, freshly ground spices in tamarind sauce. A popular curry served in weddings and special lunch occasions. Brinjal curry goes well with hot steamed rice , roti / chapatti, dosa / idli and many more. Recipe includes detailed instructions with stepwise pictures.
Benefits of Eggplant
A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of Eggplant | Brinjals has : Protein: 1 gram , Fat: 0.2 grams ,Carbohydrates: 6 grams and Fiber: 3 grams . It does give you a decent supply of potassium and fiber. Pretty guilt-free food. Eggplant has antioxidants like vitamins A and C, which help protect your cells against damage.
Freshly roasted – grounded spices with whole sized brinjal makes it special about this curry. I just followed my moms recipe step by step and its turns out to be perfect every time. Curry reminds me of those beautiful days when we use to eat Nila Chooru (Moon Light Dinner) in the terrace. The entire family sat together and my grandma use to mix rice with this Ennai kathirikai kuzhambu | brinjal curry with lots of ghee and make urandai (small ball sized portion) and gives it to everyone. The taste of that food and memories are soo precious to me. In our house ,this curry is always on the weekly menu at-least once.
Small sized purple color brinjals are the best to make this curry
Because of using whole brinjals in the curry, small once easily absorbs the spices from the curry and gives you an excellent taste.
Serving and storing suggestions
Curry is usually served with white rice with a teaspoon of sesame oil or ghee on top . Other sides it could be served – for roti/chapatti , dosas (crepes made of rice and urad dal) , Idli ( Steamed and made with rice and urad dal).
If you’re looking to make food for day trips or camping’s, this curry has a good shelf life, because of the use of tamarind and oil in the curry. So it stays good for a day outside on the room temperature or store it in a cooler.
For Refrigeration – Once you make the curry, cool down completely and then refrigerate it in a clean air dry container. When serving, microwave for 3 to 4 minutes on high power or heat on stove top in low flame stirring occasionally and use clean, dry spoon to serve. Refrigerate any leftovers immediately. Brinjal Curry Stays good upto to two weeks in the refrigerator (make sure to use the given amount of oil and tamarind).
Homemade tamarind juice / pulp
In the recipe I have used readymade tamarind pulp, but if you want to prepare homemade tamarind juice, then follow the recipe in the below link. I’ve used block tamarind to extract the juice/ paste.
Note – if making homemade tamarind juice , take one lemon size tamarind and add six cups of water and extract the tamarind juice. Then add the juice to the curry in the final step (no need to add extra water in the curry).
Other Indian Cuisine Curry Recipes, check the links below, I’ve listed few below.
- Saravana Bhavan ( HSB style) Instant Pot Vegetable Kurma
- Gongura Chicken Curry Recipe
- Gongura Thokku | Pachadi | Pickle
- Street Food Kaalan | Mushroom Masala
- Instant Pot Plantain | Vazhakkai Curry
- Instant Pot Drumstick | Moringa Vegetable Curry
- Easy Instant Pot Palak Paneer
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken Recipe
- Roasted Okra In Spiced Yogurt Sauce
- Easy Instant Pot Pav Bhaji
Step By Step Pictures How To Make The Brinjal | Kathirikai Curry
Ingredients required for preparing the curry – small sized brinjals (sautéed in sesame oil – see below for sautéing instructions), tamarind paste , turmeric , sambar powder, Kashmiri chili powder , salt, finely chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, Thalippu Vadagam ( or mustard seeds and urad dal) , curry leaves few, sesame oil.
For Roasting And Grinding
Ingredients required – chenna dal , urad dal, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and dry red chilies.
Take a wide pan / kadai which you plan to cook the entire dish and heat the pan in low flame and once hot, add all the ingredients chenna dal , urad dal, methi seeds , coriander seeds , fennel seeds , dry red chilies. Dry roast it in low flame until slightly change in color or until you get good aroma from roasting the spices. Switch of the flame , cooled down and grind the ingredients in a mixer / food processor to a coarse texture ( Not too finely ). Set aside.
Sautéing The Brinjals In Sesame Oil
Wash the brinjals and make a slit (like a Plus symbol) with the knife on the top and bottom and also make couple of slashes ( cuts ) in the body of each brinjal / kathirikai. The cuts are made, so the brinjals absorbs the kuzhambu. (Make sure you DONT cut deeply )Brinjals needs to retain its shape . Now use the same wide pan/ kadai and add 2 Tablespoons of sesame oil and heat in medium – low flame. Once hot add all the brinjals into the pan and sauté for approximately for 4 to 5 minutes or until the skin of kathirikai/ brinjal changes to little darker color. It should have been half cooked by now. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Making The Kuzhambu | Curry
In the same pan used to fry brinjals, without switching off the flame, add 3 tablespoons of sesame oil , once oil is hot add the thalippu vadagam and curry leaves . When it starts to splutter, add finely chopped onions and sauté until golden brown. Then add chopped tomatoes, fry once and cook covered with the lid for 5 to 6 minutes in medium-low flame. Stir in-between making sure it doesn’t get burnt in the bottom .
Cook onions – tomatoes to a pulpy and little thick consistency. Now add turmeric , sambar powder, Kashmiri chili powder and salt sauté for a minute.
Followed by tamarind paste, water, grounded powder and fried brinjals, mix well. Bring it to boil and check for salt seasoning at this stage. Simmer the stove to low flame with the lid on and cook for 8 more minutes . You will see oil oozing out on the sides from the curry. Switch off the flame. Add the remaining one tablespoons of oil and serve .
Ingredients
- To Dry Roast And Grind Coarsely
Instructions
-
Preparation
- Ingredients required for preparing the curry - small sized brinjals , tamarind paste , turmeric , sambar powder, Kashmiri chili powder , salt, finely chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, Thalippu Vadagam ( or mustard seeds and urad dal) , curry leaves few, sesame oil. For Roasting And Grinding
- Ingredients required - chenna dal , urad dal, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and dry red chilies.
- Take a wide pan / kadai which you plan to cook the entire dish and heat the pan in low flame and once hot, add all the ingredients chenna dal , urad dal, methi seeds , coriander seeds , fennel seeds , dry red chilies. Dry roast it in low flame until slightly change in color or until you get good aroma from roasting the spices. Switch of the flame , cooled down and grind the ingredients in a mixer / food processor to a coarse texture ( Not too finely ). Set aside. Sautéing The Brinjals In Sesame Oil
- Wash the brinjals and make a slit (like a Plus symbol) with the knife on the top and bottom and also make couple of slashes ( cuts ) in the body of each brinjal / kathirikai. The cuts are made, so the brinjals absorbs the kuzhambu. (Make sure you DONT cut deeply )Brinjals needs to retain its shape . Now use the same wide pan/ kadai and add 2 Tablespoons of sesame oil and heat in medium - low flame. Once hot add all the brinjals into the pan a sauté them approximately for 4 to 5 minutes or until the skin of kathirikai/ brinjal changes to little darker color and it should have been half cooked. Remove from the pan and set aside. Making The Kuzhambu | Curry
- In the same pan used to fry brinjals, without switching off the flame, add 3 tablespoons of sesame oil , once oil is hot add the thalippu vadagam and curry leaves . When it starts to splutter, add finely chopped onions and sauté until golden brown and then add chopped tomatoes and fry once, cook covered with the lid for 5 to 6 minutes in medium-low flame stirring in-between and making sure it doesn't get burnt in the bottom . Cook onions - tomatoes to a pulpy and little thick consistency. Now add turmeric , sambar powder, Kashmiri chili powder, salt and sauté for a minute. Followed by tamarind paste, water, grounded powder and fried brinjals, mix well and bring it to boil and check for salt seasoning at this stage. Simmer the stove to low flame with the lid on and cook for 8 more minutes . You will see oil oozing out on the sides from the curry. Switch off the flame. Add the remaining one tablespoons of oil and serve .
Notes
*Consistency of this Ennai kathirikai kuzhambu depends upon individuals preference. If you like it little thicker consistency, then simmer on low flame uncovered for few more minutes at the final step.
*Kuzhambu | curry will get little thicker once its cools down.
*In the recipe I have used readymade tamarind pulp, but if you want to prepare homemade tamarind follow the recipe here , it is very simple to extract the tamarind juice, How To Extract Tamarind Juice. Note - if making homemade tamarind juice , take one lemon size tamarind and add six cups of water and extract the tamarind juice , then add the juice to the curry in the final step (no need to add extra water in the curry).
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