Baingan Achaari/Eggplant Pickle

Eggplants are such a versatile vegetable, and it can take on any avatar, and still tastes great. They have a special place in every cuisine of India as well as internationally.

Eggplant is one vegetable which absorbs a lot of oil, I wanted to make the Achaari Baingan without a lot of oil. So instead of frying it directly nuking it in the microwave seemed to work well. Here is my contribution to JFI event for July hosted by Sangeeta from Ghar ka Khana.

6 small brinjals

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp kalonji(onion seeds)

1/2 tsp hing

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp chilli pwd

1/4 tsp fenugreek pwd

2 tomatoes pureed

1/4 tsp sugar

salt to taste

gingelly oil

2 green chillies slit

1 tbsp coriander leaves

Slit the baingan into four keeping them whole.

Sprinkle salt on the baingan and microwave them for about 5 minutes.

Heat 1 tsp oil and fry the baingan till light brown.

Heat another 2 tsp oil, add mustard seeds, fennel seeds, kalonji seeds, hing, and turmeric.

Stir well add garlic, stir lightly add chilli pwd and fenugreek pwd.

Add tomato puree, sugar and salt.

Keep stirring till thick add baingan and green chillies. Cook till a thickish gravy clings to baingan. Add coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Sooji Dhokla from Trupti's - The spice who loved me

I love Trupti's blog, I made the Sooji Dhokla, but wanted it without the crispness. I followed Trupti's recipe exactly, I used 1/2 cup yogurt and about half cup water, and steamed it in a 8 inch round cake tin. Then did the tadka with mustard seeds and green chilli. Here are the pics, Thanks Trupti. They came out really soft and were very easy to make.

Mango Pickle/ Manga curry

Remember the unripe mango from Sunnyvale, well one was made into thokku, the other one is becoming a pickle, an instant pickle actually. I love this pickle have been eating this from the time I was a kid, I think every Malayali knows how to make this. Just remember to store it in the fridge as it does not stay well after two weeks, if it lasts till then. That's the reason I make it in small quantities.

1 unripe mango

2 tbsp gingelly oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

salt to taste

2 tsp chilli pwd

1/2 tsp hing

1/2 tsp fenugreek pwd

Cut the mango into small cubes with the skin. Add salt chilli pwd,hing, and fenugreek pwd, dont' mix just sprinkle these spices on the mango and keep aside.

Now heat oil add mustard seeds, once they splutter pour over the spices and mangoes. Stir well till combined, Check for salt.

Once cool transfer to a sterlized bottle. Keep at room temperature for one day for the flavors to blend, then store in the fridge. Yummo!!! Goes well as a spread on chapati, bread or with rice.

Mango Thokku/ Mango Chutney

I was in Caifornia last week visiting my sis-in-law, who had come from India. I tasted the mango thokku there, it was awesome, I even bought two mangoes from the Farmer's market in Sunnyvale. The storebought version tastes like nothing compared to the homemade one. It's such a easy recipe, especially if you use a microwave, it cuts your cooking time into half. These go well with my Dal Parathas, just had one for breakfast from yesterday. Here's my sis-in-law's recipe.

1 raw mango peeled and grated

2 tbsps gingelly oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp hing

1/2 tsp turmeric pwd

1/2 tsp jaggery

1 tsp chilli pwd

1/2 tsp fenugreek pwd

Heat oil add mustard seeds and hing, once they splutter add turmeric pwd stir.

Then add the grated mango salt and jaggery, and stir till well combined.

Remove this mixture to microwave safe dish and cook for about five minutes in the microwave till the mango reduces and you see the oil coming out, or cook it on the stovetop.

Add chilli powder and fenugreek powder and cook for another minute or so.

You will know it is done when the whole thing gets a nice color and gets all mushy and sticks together.

Mango thokku is ready, cool and transfer to a sterlized container, keeps well in the fridge. Now wasn't that easy, I'm never buying Thokku from the store again.