Vankaya Popu --Sautéed Eggplant

Eggplant / Brinjal is one of the favorite vegetables for me and S, but Vsh n Vn try to avoid it as much as possible. They seem to have no problem with baingan bartha where they don’t see the brinjal as it is mashed. That reminded me of vankaya popu that mom used to make occasionally. I altered it a little by replacing channa dal with black eyed peas as Vsh is allergic to channa.

Smooth texture of brinjal with soft black eyed peas cooked in tamarind along with crisp tampering and the aroma of fresh green chilies and ginger will make you relish every bite.


Ingredients:
15 – 20 small purple brinjals chopped thin and long
Fistful of black eyed peas soaked for 2 hours
4 green chilies and inch of ginger coarsely blend
Gooseberry size ball of tamarind
½ tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil

For seasoning:
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp urad dal
1 red chili
Curry leaves

In a sauce pan boil black eyed peas with a little salt. Do not let them loose shape or mush. Strain and set aside.

In a separate pan heat 1 tbsp oil and sauté chopped brinjal. Cook on medium to high heat covered. Stir frequently to make sure it is not burnt.

When brinjal pieces start to soften mash them with the back of the spoon. Add salt and turmeric.

When the brinjal is well cooked and mashed turn off the flame and add the coarsely blended green chilies and ginger.

Add green chilies and ginger paste only after the brinjal is cooked. The fresh aroma of green chilies and ginger has to be retained.

Extract the pulp from tamarind. Set is aside. Try to use as little water as possible. Adjust the amount of tamarind to suit your palate. I use very little, to give a hint of sourness.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add mustard, cumin, urad dal, red chili and curry leaves. Sauté for few seconds.

Add cooked black eyed peas followed by tamarind pulp. Cook on high heat stirring constantly until the moisture of the tamarind pulp is evaporated.
Add cooked brinjal and gently mix everything together. Cook on low heat for another 5 minutes.

Tips: Black eyed beans can be replaced by channa dal or garbanzo beans.