Vankaya Kothimira Karam

There are many traditional eggplant recipes in Andhra cuisine that have wooed spice-loving palettes over the generations and continue to enchant the present. This following koora / subzi is one such classic example of the kind.  Bursting flavors of fresh cilantro and ginger and spiciness borrowed from green chillies add new levels of charm to the plain old eggplant/ brinjal koora.
Today I added the small, round, green colored eggplants (Thai variety) to prepare koora. These eggplants are called thella vankayalu (white eggplant) in our parts, because of their pale color compared to the dark, purple colored ones. Any other variety eggplants can be substituted.
Though the cilantro paste is used to stuff the eggplants, I have chosen to chop the eggplants.

Ingredients for 4 - 6 servings:
Thai Eggplants - about 18
Cilantro leaves - 1/2 cup firmly packed
Ginger -  a small piece
Thai green chillies - about 10 (more or less depending upon the spiciness)
Salt to taste
Tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp chanadal and 1 tsp mustard seeds


          Vankaya kothimira karam & payalaku-tomato pappu served with rice.

Method:
Chop off the green stalks and then cut the eggplants lengthwise into two halves. Then go again lengthwise into thin slices.
Heat oil in a sauté pan and add the chanadal and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop and the dal start to turn reddish, add the eggplant slices. Cook on low flame till the eggplants are done, keeping the lid covered. Keep stirring in between and take care not to turn the eggplants mushy.
Meanwhile, grind the cilantro, chilies and ginger into a coarse paste. Add this paste and the salt to the cooked eggplants and mix well. Taste and adjust their quantities if needed.
Let it cook for a few minutes or until the raw smell of the chillies disappear and then turn off the stove.

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My Kitchen Gallery - Byadagi Chilies

The Byadagi chilies from Karnataka are prized for their color than spiciness. They are used in most of the dishes especially the spice powders, from that state because of the orange - red hue they impart to them. When paired with the Guntur variety Chilies, from the neighboring state Andhra, one would end up with a dish appealing to both the eyes and palate. :)

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Pandu Mirapakaya Pachchadi - Fresh Red Chillie Pickle

No Indian palate is accustomed to bland food. We need chillies to pep up any savory dish. Be it in the form of chillies-fresh/ripe or the chillie powder which go into our daily fare of curries / dals / pickles, it needs to be just there. Recently, our own chillie, 'Bhut Jolokia' has been honored as the hottest chillie on earth by Guinness Book of World Records. For the JFI event, Nandita of Saffrontrail has aptly chosen chillies - the ingredient without which our Indian cooking would be at loss.

I instantly knew what I was going to prepare when JFI - chillies was announced. Being an andhrite, pickle of course. Spicy pickles are an integral part of Andhra cuisine. Instead of being sidelined, they are given prominence as a part of the main meal, which is rice centered. Especially in Telugu Brahmin house holds, a traditional meal always start with rice being eaten with pickles / chutneys (pachchadi) with generous sprinkling of ghee. Rice is eaten with pickles (pachchadi), cooked and spiced vegetable / curry (koora), spicy Dal (pappu / pulusu), rasam (charu), yogurt (perugu) - always in this order. A menu on a festive ocassion may include more curries, rice dishes (like pulihora), other sweet and savory dishes.

It is therefore a common practice to prepare and store pickles for year long usage. Avakaya, Maagaya, Mukka pachchadi (pickles made with mango), Gongura, Chintakaya (made with raw tamarind) are to name a few. Among the long list of Andhra pickles, here is one, Pandu Mirapakaya Pachchadi / Pandu Mirapakaya Karam. As the name suggests, the main ingredient that goes into this pickle are fresh red chillies, the chillies which are allowed to ripen before picking.

Making this pickle is an easier task compared to the other ones. You don't need any elaborate preparations to make this. You can have this in a jiffy just by grinding the required ingredients. Take care to use dry utensils and ingredients for pickle's long shelf life. This pickle stays fresh for at least six months with the kind of fresh red chillies available in Andhra. If you are substituting with other varieties, it is better to refrigerate.

Note: The closest substitute for fresh red chillies I could find in my grocery shop were chicara. The quantities of other ingredients may slightly vary depending upon the chillies you choose. The following ingredients give you a cup of pickle. You can increase/decrease the quantities in same proportions for more / less quantity of the pickle. Also the ingredients should be ground into a coarser paste for an authentic version. I could not do it because of my blender. Don't be skeptical to try this because of the color and the chillies used. The fresh red chillies are mild compared to the green ones. If you want to try this, I would recommend you to go ahead without any hesitation. If you try it, I am sure that you are going to love it..

Ingredients:
Fresh red chillies - 10
Tamarind - A small lime size (Hint: if you make a ball out of tamarind, it should fit into a Tbsp size spoon)
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - little (around a 1/8 tsp)

How to make the pickle:
Wash the red chillies and let them air dry or wipe them dry. Chillies should have no trace of moisture. Remove the stalks.
Mean while, heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and asafoetida. When mustard seeds start to pop, turn off the stove. Let the mustard seeds cool.
Take care that the mixer / blender which you are going to use is completely dry. Grind the chillies, tamarind and salt into a coarse paste WITHOUT water.
Add the mustard seeds - asafoetida mixture to it. Stir well and store it in a glass / ceramic jar.
Always use a DRY spoon when handling the pickle.
Traditionally, this is eaten with rice & ghee. It also can be served as a side dish / dip.

'Pandu Mirapakaya Pachchadi' - My entry to JFI - Chillies hosted by saffron trail's Nandita. Indira of Mahanandi is the person behind JFI.

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Instant Bitter Gourd Pickle ~ Kakarakaya Pachchadi

Before moving on to today's recipe, let me tell you the name of the green vegetable that I asked you to guess in my previous post. Capsicum got the most votes and keeping JFI - chillies in view, some even suggested green chillies. Only Suganya and anonymous (I know it is you, Deepthi) mentioned the veggie along with their other choices of guesswork. Lakshmi went with the Chinese one.
The answer is Indian Bitter Gourd / Kakarakaya / Karela. The idea of playing the guessing game occured to me after seeing the picture and when even my husband guessed the veggie as ridgegourd. It didn't look like karela (except when you paid attention to certain pieces) at any angle and to prove that I didn't scrape the ridges, here are the chopped karela in a bowl, which I used to make this pickle.
Here is a recipe for all bitter gourd lovers and diabetics. It is really a simple preparation and tasted good really the next day. So far tested shelf life of this pickle is a week, refrigerated.

You need:

Finely chopped Indian bitter gourd, seeds removed - 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1&1/2 tsp

Green chillies - 3 or 4 (Can be chopped fine or slit lengthwise)

Juice extracted from two small limes (Or lemons)

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - Few pinches

Preparing the pickle:

Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and asafoetida. When mustard seeds start to splutter, turn off the stove. Let the mustard seeds cool.

To a bowl add chopped bittergourd, salt, green chillies, turmeric powder and lemon / lime juice. Add the mustard seed mixture. Mix well and let it sit for a couple of hours before serving.

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Jalapeno Peppers Curry ~ My version of Mirchi Ka Salan

I had couple of other things in mind for the 'J' event. Even then, I ended up preparing a dish which I never heard of or I should say, I never dreamt of preparing and consuming.
I am not a great fan of peppers and am scared even to eat the mirchi bajjis. So, when I thought of preparing something with Jalapeno peppers, I was sure the entire THING would land up in my husband's plate, who is a great fan of store bought green chilli pickles. I asked him beforehand, whether he was going to eat something prepared with jalapeno peppers and he answered affirmatively.
After tackling the issue of who gets to eat it, then came the question of what I am going to prepare with them? I was not sure about stuffing them, because of their small size. So, I had to drop the idea of mirchi bajjis. Some one's comment about mirchi ka salan about my other post, popped before my eyes. I had no idea what it was and had to google for the recipe. The search proved me once again how ignorant I am about Indian food and how diversified and vibrant, Indian cuisines are. Mirch ka salan sounded interesting, delicious except for the chillies part.
Still, it was decided that Jalapeno peppers Curry would be sent for the 'J' event of Nupur's A - Z Indian vegetables.
Then, I had to concoct my own version of the salan recipe to suit my tastes, as no two recipes were similar on the internet. I experimented and the end product was superb in taste (though I ate the gravy and chillies were finished my husband in installments. Even my 5 year old liked the gravy). The only amendment in future preparations (yes, there are going to be future preparations) would be replacing jalapeno peppers by banana peppers. I underestimated the hotness of jalapenos.

Ingredients required for the gravy:
Peanuts - 2 Tbsp
Sesame Seeds - 2 Tbsp
Grated, dry, unsweetened coconut - 2 Tbsp
Poppy Seeds - 1 Tbsp
Coriander Seeds - 1 Tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Heat a small pan and dry fry each ingredient individually till it turns light brown and starts to emit aroma. Cool them and grind into a fine mixture. Collect the mixture and keep aside.

Ingredients:
Jalapeno Peppers - 12
Oil - 4 Tbsp
A big Onion - Chopped fine
Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind extract - 1 tsp
Salt - Accordingly
Chillie Powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Water - As needed for the gravy

Method:
Choose a dozen, vibrant, green colored Jalapeno Peepers. Remove the stalks, wash the peppers and wipe them dry. Make a slit along the side of the pepper, keeping the base intact so that it is not split into two pieces. Remove the seeds carefully with the knife, to lessen the hotness of the peppers.
Heat oil in a Karhai / pan and fry peppers till you notice white spots all over them. Remove them with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
Add cumin seeds, ginger, and turmeric powder to the same oil. I have omitted garlic. If using, add at this stage. Fry for a few seconds and add onion. Fry the onion pieces till they turn translucent.
Then add the above ground mixture, and fry for a minute. Add tamarind extract, salt and any chillie powder, if needed. Add water as required to form a gravy. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve with basmati rice or rotis and keep a pitcher of ice cold water ready. :-)

Note: Try using Indian variety green chillies instead of jalapeno peppers for an authentic version of Mirchi Ka Salan.

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