September 28, 2008

Eggplant in coco-peanut curry

first

eggplants

Many thanks to Curry Leaf for passing me the "Good job" award. I deeply appreciate it. And yes, I am passing it on today after a long time. And I am doing it in style! :p
I have written a one (well maybe two!) lines about the person who I am passing on the award to. I hope to follow this tradition each time I pass an award (don't beat me up if I don't!). I think it makes it more meaningful. What say?
So, if you are looking for the awards, scroll right down to the end of the post. But before that, may I interest you in my recipe? Please? Remember, I write a food blog? Hello?

This recipe landed from a picnic table onto my kitchen. I like gravies and curries, a lot, but sadly I don't make them as much as I would like to. One of my friends made it for a potluck picnic and all I heard was everybody rave about it. Now, I had to taste it myself to give it my verdict.
After spending a few minutes walking around the table and a few greedy glances later I ended up with my mouth stuffed with it, it was the best curry I had tasted in a long time. It was not that spicy and the medley of coconut and peanuts makes it one of the best curries I had discovered. My friend was gracious enough to share the recipe with me promptly, and many thanks to that, I am able to share it with you now.
What is more refreshing is that... it doesn't have that tomato base which graces every Indian curry/masala. Now, that is what I call a welcome change.

Eggplant in coco-peanut curry

Ingredients:

To saute Eggplants:
Eggplants/Brinjal - 6-8 medium
Salt - To taste
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp

For the curry:
Red onions - 2 medium
Red chillies - 4-5 depending on the heat level you prefer
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Blanched peanuts - 2 cups
Grated fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
Sesame seeds - 3 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder - If you need more heat, add 1/2 tsp
Salt - To taste
Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

Roast the eggplant in oil, as it starts to become tender, add the salt, turmeric and saute well. Set aside when done.

In the same pan, add oil, then add the cumin seeds.
Now add the red chillies, and the onions and saute till onions are translucent.
Set this aside as well.

Again, in the same pan, add peanuts to a tad bit of oil and saute till lightly golden.

saute

Now the assembly part.

In a blender, add the sauteed onion & red chillies, peanuts (cooled), coconut, sesame seeds and a pinch of salt and grind with a little water till it reaches a paste-like consistency.

masala

Take a tablespoon of oil in a pan, and add the paste and fry for about 5 to 10 min, just until it all comes together as one flavor.
Add turmeric and chilly powder to it, and saute for another couple of minutes.

Then add the eggplant, cover and let it cook on very low heat for about 10 minutes.

Your Eggplant in peanut and coconut curry is ready! It goes really well with plain rice or maybe even Mint chutney rotis.

last

Now, lets talk some "awards", shall we?



I would love to pass on the "Good Job" award to a few of my amazing fellow bloggers, in no particular order:

Suma Rajesh of Suma's Cuisine - I did try your microwave banana halwa. It was yum'o. It wasn't as pretty as yours as I did not shape them, but you get two thumbs up for ease and taste. Your recipe rocks!

Priya of Akshayapatram - You are one of the first blogs (what seems like so long ago) I came across and have looked up to when I was thinking of starting one of my own, I think I have mentioned this to you, haven't I? ;)

Rajeswari of Rak's Kitchen - I admire her way of clearly presenting the recipe. She lists every little procedure step-wise with pictures. Now, that is a lot of work, and she does it well.

Pearlsoffeast - I am still drooling over your chewy apricot and oats cookies. You did a great job with it, and the pictures in all of your posts is just incredible.

Madhuram of Eggless Cooking - She was the first blogger (apart from friends) who tried one of my recipes and gave me an encouraging feedback for it. Coming from her (being an awesome cook), I spent the rest of my day reeling in happiness.

Srikar's Kitchen - She is one of the first people to give a feedback on all of my posts most of the time, and I really appreciate it. That puts some pressure on you now, doesn't it? That is exactly what I am aiming for! He he he.

Rachel of Tangerine's kitchen- We happened to discover each other's blog only recently, but she has just inspired me with some really good dishes which I hope to make justice to some day :)

37 comments:

  1. Hi Divya..
    Eggplant with coco peanut curry looks yummy & delicious... Nice click.. Awesome..thxs ...

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  2. I have this recipe in one of my cookbooks but have never tried before...looking this I am very much tempted...thanx for sharing!

    Thankyou for your award dear:)

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  3. eggplant curry looks yumm..nice recipe..

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  4. Hi,
    Eggplant looks delicious. I was not very fond of eggplant until I came to China. One of the veggie that is easily available here is Eggplant and it is one of the few options for veggies dining outside. Sure to try this looks yummy and pic looks awesome

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  5. Thank you very much for your kind words and passing me the award, Divya. I have bookmarked a lot of dishes in your blog. Will try them one by one and definitely give you the feedback.

    My mother is a big fan of eggplant, sorry not me! So I will prepare it for herself.

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  6. Hi Divya, lovely recipe and lovely pictures as well.

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  7. Eggplant curry looks yumm..nice recipe..pic looks awesome...:)

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  8. Thxs a ton for ur kind words& passing me the Award.. i am really happy to recive from u, divya.. thxs alot dear..

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  9. Wow,Divya,looks tasty.Will try and get back to u.

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  10. Eggplant er...no comments because I am not fond of it.

    thanks so much for the awrd...I have some recipes that I need to do justice to as well :)

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  11. ur curry looks delicious with a combo of peanuts and coconut..sounds interesting...thnks u so much tht u tryed my halwa and thanks for pssing me the award...so honoured to rec from u divya..thanks again..

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  12. I don't add coconut usually with peanut! Sounds really delicious , should try ur recipe! Congrats on ur award :)

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  13. hi dhivya
    well done,,the eggplant in coco-peanut curry is an innovative idea !

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  14. That eggplant curry looks delish.. I love the ingredients going in the ground mixture so this is sure to be a hit.

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  15. Hey Divya,
    Thanks. We are in Shanghai and there are a lot of Indians here. We get most of the Indian items but veggies are very limited. We dont get horsegram, white beans etc. Only Rajma and moong and Indian stores has chana thats all. I miss the others ;). We do get coconut and coconut milk. Garam masala etc are available at Indian stores.Local rice is sticky:( and you go out to Local hotels for dinner you have to use chopsticks! and there will be only 2 options for veggies Eggplant and Potato!! They say these days we get a lot Of Indian items compared to 2 years back. But the place is well developed and that too in ten years they have come a long way! Olympics cast its magic i guess!!

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  16. this is a new way of cooking eggplant, Divya! Looks so delicious! Awesome recipe.

    Reg. my baked pakoda recipe: the red specks are nothing but green chilies, turned a little red due to prolonged storage, he he! Hope this clarifies your doubt!

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  17. Thank you dear friend for thinking about me.I feel so thrilled and happy to be appreciated.It is a great feeling.Well thanks for visiting me and I could find out ur lovely space gorged with enticing recipes.
    This recipe of eggplant is mouth tickling and a wonderful way to have the Baingan.

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  18. nice version of brinjal curry,...congrats for the well deseved award,..;-)hppy weekend,..

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  19. I like the no-tomatoes-in-the-gravy part. The curry looks delicious. Congrats on the award.

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  20. hi Divya, wonderful curry! I have tried this twice and failed. Love your recipe, and the pictures look perfect. will try. Congrats on the awards. I have tagged you at my blog too, please do visit, and do the tag soon too:-)

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  21. The eggplants pulls me towards it...The recipe resembles the hydrebadi baingan curry(I forgot the name :( ),and I luv it...Very yummy DIvya..

    N reg my comment on ur iRobot,it's just for fun reh..

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  22. Ooo your blog looks great. I love doing healthy takes on a lot of different types of food. Thanks for visiting mine so I could find yours!

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  23. lovely curry and a nice gesture divya..luved the way u have written this post :)

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  24. i love eggplants .. karnataka style yengai is more or less similar to this .. I too love curries just like you do

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  25. curry looks yummy Divya. Have never tried eggplants with peanuts. will try this time

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  26. I am not much towards eggplant.This looks delicious though..And that was nice reading about the people whom you showered the award with..

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  27. Hey Divya,
    Your coco-peanut eggplant curry looks really yummy....I really loved this concept. I will definitely give a try

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  28. hai divya

    curry is too good.i love eggplant.taro root is sepangkilangu.congrats for ur award.

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  29. Egg plant curry looks delicious. Nice click :)

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  30. Hey Divya...congrats on your well deserved award...loved the curry it is such an unique recipe...can't wait to try it...

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  31. Nice recipe Divya. Looks very yummy...

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  32. One cannot have enough eggplant recipes. Very nice, Divya. I love coconut and peanuts with eggplant: they are all so perfect together.

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  33. I missed it, I missed it! My 5 secs of fame, and I missed it!! Thank you soo much for the award Divya and the sweet words :) I am so glad you got your blog started and I am now going to bask in the glory of having a tiny hand in it :) hugs!

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  34. hehehe..i see you are quite an eggplant fan!!:-)

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on this post. I will try to respond to queries as soon as I can. If I miss anything that needs to be addressed... please feel free to ping me again.
Happy cooking/baking or whatever it is you are doing in the kitchen! :)