Ennai Kathrikai / Fried Brinjals Cooked in Spicy Gravy

It's time for us to Blog Hop again.  If you are  a regular reader here, you should be familiar about this event now. Blog Hop Wednesday is started by Radhika of Tickling Palates,  where we pair with different bloggers and cook from each other's blog.  To have a detailed view about the event please check it here.

This week I'm paired with Prabha's Samayal/ Cooking, where she has got a collection of delicious recipes, which is a real treat to your eyes.  To spice up this week hop I went for a spicy and tangy South Indian gravy, Ennai Kathrikai.  Ennai Kathrikai is a traditional South Indian dish.  This is a perfect combo with Pulavs and Briyani's.  Thank you Prabha for this yummy recipe and thank you Radhika for organizing this lovely event.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 to 40 minutes
Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:
Brinjals - 5 to 6
Onion- 1 small sized chopped
Tomato- 1 medium sized chopped
Tamarind- 1 gooseberry sized
Curry leaves- 7 to 8 leaves
Hing- a pich
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek / Methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
Oil- 1/2 thsp fpr the gravy and oil for frying the brinjals
Salt to taste
To grind:
Methi/ Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 tsp
Coriander seeds- 1 1/2 tsp
Dried red chillies- 2
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Chana dhal- 1 tsp
Urad dhal- 1 tsp
Coconut- 1/2 tbsp

Method:
Dry roast all the ingredients to be ground in a pan until it releases a nice aroma.  Make it into a fine paste by grinding them in a mixer grinder.  Slit the brinjals at the bottom and immerse them in water to avoid discolouration.  Insert the spice paste into the brinjals using a butter knife and keep the remaining paste for the gravy.  Fry the stuffed brinjals  in oil for 3 to 4 minutes, remove it from oil and keep it aside.
Start preparing the gravy by heating the oil in a kadai or pan, splutterthe mustard seeds, fenugreek, curry leaves.  Add the chopped onions and fry it till the onions become nice and soft, then add the tomatoes, stir well.  Keep the flame in medium, cover the pan and cook till the tomatoes get soft and mushed up.
Now add the remaining paste and stir well, extract the juice from the tamarind by adding little water, add the tamarind extract to the gravy and salt to taste.  Cover the pan and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.  Now add the fried brinjals and gently stir it without breaking it.  If the gravy is too thick, add some water to dilute the gravy. Cover it and cook until the brinjals are soft and oil floats on top of the gravy. 
Serve it warm with plain rice and poppadoms , it also goes well with pulavs and briyani's.

This post is linked with Blog Hop Wednesday