Today it’s RAIN day here in UAE and my meal preparation involved a spicy brinjal gojju to sync with weather. Yes, the cozy January month has it all till now. Cold, breezy weather followed by moderately good rain was so awesomely joyful. The dark clouds with drizzling rain makes me nostalgic and my mind runs through all the food of the mood. I literally look around vegetable section of my refrigerator to find an opt veggie that can bring in the memories of cozy weather and tickle my palates too. And today I found this purple brinjal (aubergine) that tastes amazing when turned in to gojju.
The brinjal as a veggie doesn’t fascinate me much in a curry because basically it is very bland. But there are certain recipes in which nothing can swap this purple beauty. Remember stuffed brinjal? So there are some specific food where brinjal can really make a difference. The humble veggie is so very indulgent in this gojju as well.
Traditionally the whole aubergine is roasted to make this kind of gojju in which case the smoky flavor takes the food to next level. But roasting on gas flame isn’t working to the perfection with me. Most of the time I end up with a roasted brinjal which hasn’t cooked properly from inside. But I cannot deprive myself from indulging in to most palatable brinjal gojju, so I found this version of it. I chop the veggie in to bite sized pieces and roast in enough oil till it cooks. The green chilly, tomatoes, tamarind, salt, turmeric will get along with it in roasting. Finally mincing everything together to a coarse paste gives perfect gojju taste which I love, love. The key is to grind towards chunky not to fine puree.
Here is you and me diving in to dinner table to clear off the leftover gojju!!
Watch recipe video:
Brinjal Gojju | Baingan Barta | No Onion, Garlic
Ingredients
- Purple brinjal eggplant- 1 no.
- Tomato- 1 no.
- Green chillies- 2 nos.
- Tamarind- Marble sized
- Salt- 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
- Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
- Coriander leaves- Handful
- Cooking oil- 1.5 tbsp
To temper
- Cooking oil- 1 tsp
- Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
- Split blackgram lentils-1/2 tsp
- Curry leaves- Few
Instructions
Preparation
- Wash the brinjal, cut and discard the crown. Chop it in to small pieces and immerse them in enough water for about 15 minutes to avoid discoloration.
- Chop the tomato in to fine cubes and keep it ready.
Method
- Heat a pan with oil, chopped tomato and green chillies. Saute them together for few seconds. Throw in tamarind to the pan and continue sauteing till tomato turns mushy.
- Next drain the water from brinjal cubes and include them in to the pan. Let the brinjal cook in medium flame. Add salt and turmeric powder and let it cook.
- When the brinjal turns soft and mushy, finally include coriander leaves and switch off the flame. Let it cool down to room temperature. Transfer the contents of pan in to mixer jar and grind it in to coarse paste.
- In a tempering pan, add all the ingredients under the list "to temper", as mustard seeds splutter pour it over the gojju. Brinjal gojju (baingan barta) is ready to serve with a hot steamed rice.
Notes
- Immersing the brinjal pieces in water helps to avoid discoloration and astringent taste of the veggie.
- If you like onion and garlic, you can use them along with tomato. I haven't used.
- This gojju has to be spicy and tangy for the best taste. So use green chillies and tamarind accordingly.
