Baingan Ka Bartha / Vankaya Banda Pachchadi /Roasted Eggplant Chutney

Baingan Ka Bartha / Vankaya Banda Pachchadi  /Roasted Eggplant Chutney

Today I'm posting an Andhra dish called vankaya banda pachchadi  i.e. roasted brinjal chutney or roasted eggplant curry. For this dish we roast the eggplant on direct flame and then prepare the curry
. Here goes the recipe.

Method :

Take a balloon brinjal ( or big green brinjal ). Roast the brinjal directly on the flame like in the pictures below.

Keep rotating the brinjal and move it up and down so that the outer layer of the brinjal becomes crispy.

 

When the brinjal is nicely burnt, switch off the flame . Carefully transfer to another plate and allow to cool.

Once cooled remove the outer burnt skin of the brinjal.

You will be left with the inner meat as shown in the picture below.

 Now carefully separate the threads and check for any bugs. If any remove them.

Now smash the meat into a nice paste.

While doing this we should remove the thread like things. These threads get caught inbetween our fingers as shown in the picture. Now we can easily discard them. These are to be removed for a better texture of the curry. Once this is done keep it aside.

 Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and Jeera. Add fenugreek seeds.

Once they splutter add garlic.

Once they turn golden brown in colour add hing, onion, green chillies and ginger paste.

Once onion turns translucent add turmeric and tomato pieces.

Fry until tomatoes are mushy. Add the brinjal paste and salt.

Mix it well. Check for salt and spice. If you want more spicy add chilli powder.

Add coriander leaves and serve with hot steamed rice .

Preparation time : 20 minutes

Cooking time : 10 minutes

Serves : 3 adults

Ingredients :

Brinjal ( eggplant ) - 1 big

Onion - 1 big ( finely chopped )

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic - 4 pods

Green chillies - 4 ( slit lengthwise )

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Tomatoes - 1 big ( finely chopped )

Coriander leaves - 3 stems ( finely chopped )

Salt - to taste

Preparation of the curry :

1. Take a big balloon brinjal and wash it well.
2. Put this brinjal on the flame directly and roast it.
3. Initially, start from roasting the upper part ( the part that is away from the stem ). This helps us to hold the stem and rotate the brinjal while roasting.
4. Roast the upper part of the brinjal completely by rotating the brinjal.
   
   
5. Next, move the brinjal to the lower part and carefully roast the brinjal completely.
   
   
6. You can also roast the brinjal by making it stand vertically on the flame with the stem part on the upper side.
7. Roast the brinjal until the skin becomes crisp and black in colour.
8. Now carefully transfer the roasted brinjal to a plate and allow it to cool completely.
9. Once cool, remove the black burnt skin and the stem of the roasted brinjal with your hands as shown in the picture above.
10. Carefully open the inner meat of the brinjal and check for any insects.
11. If any insects, remove them and nicely crush it into a pulp.
12. While crushing the meat, thread like things get struck in between our finger. Discard them and keep the pulp aside.
13. Chop onion, green chillies and get them ready. Peel garlic and get the ginger paste ready.
14. Put the pan on the stove top and pour oil.
15. Once oil is hot, add mustard, cumin and fenugreek seeds.
16. Once they splutter, add garlic and fry until they change in colour.
17. Add hing ( asafoetida ), onion, green chillies and ginger paste.
18. When the onion turns pink in colour, add turmeric and chopped tomato pieces.
19. Cook until tomatoes becomes soft and mushy ( add salt to fasten the cooking process ).
20. Add the brinjal pulp. Mix well.
21. Add salt and check for the taste. If you need it more spicy add chilli powder.
22. Mix well and cook for 4-5 minutes.
23. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Notes :

1. Curry leaves can be added to enhance the flavour.
2. Dry red chillies can be added.
3. The curry can be made a little watery by adding water as per your choice.
4. You can also add urad dal vadiyams to the curry.

There is another version of this curry without tomatoes which I will update soon.