Brinjal (Eggplant/Kathirikai) Chutney

Do, you know, brinjal is actually a fruit but is cooked and eaten as vegetable. Brinjal is available all year, but is best in August and September. It offers antioxidants and is low in calories because it's almost 95% water, only 25 calories per serving(3 1/2 oz or 107g). I love the shape and dark purple colour of Brinjal. Of course, it's taste too.
I tried this dish with brinjal yesterday and couldn't wait to share with y'all. So, here i am posting two recipes in a week.


Recipe...
Brinjal(Indian Eggplant) - 1/4 Kg; Cut into bite size pieces
Medium Onion - 2; Chopped
Medium Tomato - 3; Chopped
Red chillies - 5-6
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5 leaves
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a kadai. Add red chillies and fry on medium. Add onion and fry for 2 minutes and then add brinjal, salt. Fry till brinjal gets cooked and then add chopped tomatoes. Fry till the tomato gets mashed and mixes well with the brinjal-onion mix. Let it cool for sometime and then grind to a thick paste. Heat the remaining oil in kadai and toast mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. Add tadka to the chutney. Serve with idli, dosa and rice.



Facts...
Brinjal is also a good source of folic acid, fiber, magnesium, pottasium, vitamin B6; it also has Vitamin C, Niacin, Iron, some protein, and pantothenic acid.
It's quite perishable, plan to use them within 4 days after buying them. Store unwrapped in a refrigerator crisper.
Choose firm, plump, smooth, smaller eggplant that are light for their size. The heavier, the more seeds; the more seeds, the more bitter.
Check out this cool link on EggPlant

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first...

Since this is my first recipe post, i thought why not start with a sweet. Paal therattipaal is a milk sweet made mostly in south india. It is so so good that you cannot stop eating one spoon. My mom makes this sweet during many fiesta's and the container would be emptied within a day. It's an all time favourite in my home since everyone is fond of sweets. Usually it takes one to two hours to make therattipaal based on the quantity of milk. It's really tiresome but the end product is Mmm.. good. Can you believe if i say that we can make this within 10 minutes? Yes, this method of making therattipaal was told by my aunt living in Harrisburg. I visited them on New year's eve and she made this sweet for us within minutes. So, thought of sharing this to you all. Surprise your guests by making this within minutes!!!


Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 Can(396 g)
Curd - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp

In a microwave safe container, add condensed milk and curd. Mix well and place in microwave for 3 minutes. Stir in every one minute. Remove the mixture, mix well again adding the ghee and place in microwave for another 3-4 minutes stirring in between until the mixture thickens and gets to a sticky consistency. Make sure you wear microwave safe gloves since the dish would be extremely hot.
Let it cool for few minutes and add the nuts of your choice. Serve cool or warm.

Note...
The time can be reduced to 4 minutes totally based on the power level of the microwave oven. Constant stirring will keep you away from burning the dish.
Also, make sure the mixture does not overflow from the container.

Aahaarshuddho Sattvashuddhi

Aahaarshuddho Sattvashuddhi
Sattvashuddho Dhruvsmriti ....
When Aahaar or Food becomes pure, sattva guna increases and when sattva guna increases, the intellect becomes subtle and things begin to look clear....

Food and cooking has always been an interest in my life. The inspiration to cook healthy and gourmet food came from my Mom. I have been reading many food blogs for a while and finally decided to start my own food blog. I have to thank my husband who has been insisting me to start this blog. Apart from cooking, one other thing that keeps me occupied is interior designing. I will be posting some interior decorating ideas soon along with the recipes. Please feel free to share your comments.


Welcome to Aahaar!!!