Friday, May 29, 2009

Eggplant Potato Curry in Peanut Tamarind Gravy

My recent adoption of a policy of minimalism with respect to stocking my refrigerator with vegetables makes for some interesting situations and some creative solutions. The idea behind sparingly stocking my veggie tray is to avoid any spoilage of vegetables which in turn helps in avoiding wastage of it. Since I am trying to avoid buying veggies until the ones in my tray are all complete, one day I found myself staring at a few small eggplants, the only vegetables left and a complete lack of ideas as to what I would be able to make with it. My pantry, as usual provided some potatoes and sweet potatoes, my favorite fall back plan in case I run out of ideas. In this case I was leaning towards making something with potatoes when I happened to come across this recipe  on Indosungod's site Daily Musings. The recipe intrigued me quite a bit and I decided to try this recipe immediately.

I tweaked the recipe a little, used tamarind juice instead of amchur powder to provide a mild tartness, scaled down the turmeric powder and changed the proportions of the vegetables a little.I also added a little sugar to bring out a contrast in the flavors of this curry. The curry turned out wonderfully with some really bold flavors and it was the perfect accompaniment for rotis. This is one of those curries that would have worked just as well served over a bed of plain steamed rice too.





Ingredients and Method to make Eggplant potato curry

2 1/2 cups of small eggplant cut into 1 inch pieces 
3 cups of potato peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 1/2 tsp sugar
salt according to taste (approximately about 1 1/4 tsp)
gooseberry sized piece of tamarind soaked in 3/4 cup of water
handful cilantro/ coriander leaves for garnish (optional) ( cut very fine)

For seasoning
2 tsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing) 
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Spice Blend
1/4 cup raw or roasted peanuts
3/4 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
3 red chillies ( or according to taste)


Dry roast each of the items mentioned in the spice blend until it turns a little reddish and keep aside. Skip this step for peanuts if you are using roasted peanuts instead of raw peanuts.

Cool this spice blend to room temperature and dry grind in a spice grinder until it turns into a fine powder.

Soak tamarind in 3/4 cup of water for about 15 to 20 minutes. To shorten the soaking time, just place the water with tamarind in the microwave and place on high heat for about 10 seconds. This makes the water just warm and makes it easy to extract the tamarind juice. Press the tamarind with thumb and fingers to extract juice from it. Strain the juice and remove the tamarind pulp and seeds. Repeat this step again to remove the entire tamarind juice.

In a heavy bottomed pan heat oil. Add cumin seeds to it, and when the cumin seeds splutter add the asafoetida and turmeric powder to it. Mix once or twice, then add tamarind juice to it. To the tamarind juice add potatoes and cut eggplants.

Let the tamarind juice boil for a little while about 5 to 10 minutes until the potatoes and eggplants are cooked but not mushy.

Add the ground spice blend to this and adjust salt to taste and add water to achieve required conistency.

Let the entire mixture simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to blend. 

Garnish with cut cilantro and serve hot with rotis/ or plain rice.

Serves approximately about 3-4

41 comments :

kittymatti said...

usha, this is a very different recipe..never made it b4..! Looks really good

anudivya said...

This looks neatly done Usha. I always empty my veggie box before heading out to buy more most of the time. I hate to waste food, and most importantly love to cook them when they are fresh.
I guess I get that from my mother.

Anu said...

Nice recipe Usha... sounds similar to pitla varieties(tamarind gravy :) ).. Eggplant and potato combination is very new to me... sounds nice!

Vidhya said...

wow, Usha I can smell the peanuts, coriander and all the spices here. This is very new and sounds simple and yum..I am gonna try this for sure.

Unknown said...

Looks very tempting, beautiful picture.

Vishali said...

mmhhh that sure looks yum and fingerlicking!

Poornima Nair said...

Peanut tamarind gravy sounds delicious..looks very tempting.

Mangala Bhat said...

Lovely ! looks very tempting !

Priya Suresh said...

Wat a delicious gravy..just love the addition of peanuts, very tempting gravy Usha!

Nandinis food said...

I always love the combo of potato and eggplant! I love the spices you have added.:) I like the tip of tamarind soaking which I do often. Gravy goes well with Rice:)

Gita Jaishankar said...

Thats a delicious gravy...so thick and yummy :)

Meghan (Making Love In The Kitchen) said...

How delicious! I think I'll try it with a little honey instead of the sugar. Should do the same.

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

wow new to me.. sounds great.

Varsha Vipins said...

Nice dish Usha..Eggplants in tangy gravy is somethung I make often..never added peanuts tho..:)

Uma said...

mmm. peanut gravy sounds so tempting. And that curry looks so gorgeous and yummy :)

Shreya said...

grt combo with potatoes, and peanut tamarind gravy makes it all the more yummy:-)

Priya said...

I have never used eggplant and potato together! A must try. Thanks.
http://borntohog.blogspot.com/

Deepthi Shankar said...

thatz a good thing not to over stock veggies .. Love this one .. eggplants & peanut sauce is interesting

Amy said...

Mmm I love tamarind! This sounds lovely!

Parita said...

I love eggplants and this is wonderful dish..new to me ..never used peanut gravy in eggplants before..delicious!!

chef and her kitchen said...

Nice n yummy dish usha..lovely color n combo..

lata raja said...

The recipe and picture are interesting.will try soon.

lata raja said...

The recipe and picture are interesting.will try soon.

Recipeswap said...

Lovely.I would love to try this!

Vibaas said...

i love the potato eggplant combi and this looks perfect! :)

ST said...

Curry looks divine....

Myvegfare said...

i always like to try different masala combo's this one is different !, must try this..., must be tasting very nice, my children will like anything with potato !, the click looks quite interesting...

Unknown said...

thats a nice fusion recipe..cooked in tamarind and then th e peanuts..absolutely delciious..

Bharti said...

This gravy sounds simply lovely.

Hari Chandana P said...

delicious dish.. thanks for the recipe :)

Vikis Kitchen said...

Delicious gravy... nice pics.

Nithya Praveen said...

I tried to do the way you mentioned but apparently I prefer buying veggies from the asian stores which is a lil far away from where i stay,so i stock up things but ensure to cooks all green veggies first and then try to get hold of potato,arbies etc.Anything with eggplant and am in for it...yummy once.I liked the tamarind bit instead of amchur.Thanks for the recipe....bookmarked:)

Trupti said...

greavy sound delicious Usha. Looks delicious

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Wow such a creamy rich gravy mmm I love potato wich I have a bite of the potato!!!

Laavanya said...

What an interesting combination - the potato and peanuts must lend a nice creaminess i suppose.

Anonymous said...

Yum, potato and eggplant sound wonderful together in a curry! The peanut gravy is excellent!

Archana said...

Very nice combination - looks lovely...

Unknown said...

Thats a smooth and delicious looking curry :)

Ana Powell said...

Hi Usha
What a divine curry, absolutely adored it x

Nithya Praveen said...

Hey Usha..This indeed is a lovely recipe.I made this,check in my current post.Thanks for the recipe:)

Soma said...

Love the sound of the gravy ! I have done a thai curry with tamarind gravy.. but different.

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