Cook's Hideout: Vankaya Kurma/ Eggplant Kurma

March 22, 2011

Vankaya Kurma/ Eggplant Kurma

I was wondering one day, is it possible to make all the delicious recipes that I bookmark online AND make the recipes from my cookbooks AND make ALL my favorite recipes that Amma used to make AND make something new and creative when I’m inspired in ONE LIFETIME. I have my doubts, since I don’t actively cook during the week and weekend being ONLY 2 days, I don’t think I can do them all. Unless I stop bookmarking anymore new recipes for the next year and cook everything I already have. I really want to know how you guys manage your bookmarks, please!!
Years ago, I used to print the recipes and file them by category: rotis, rice, subzi etc. After flooding the favorite section on our browser, I’ve started to maintain a notebook where I write down the recipe name and the URL that interest me. So when I want to make something from my bookmarks I refer to my notebook.
Vankaya Kurma/ Eggplant Kurma

For some websites (like Eenadu, a very famous Telugu daily newspaper), I have to write the recipes since their archives are available only for the past 90days. I like to write as it is something that I have been doing very little of these days. My Telugu handwriting used to be very neat, but now with no practice it has become scribbled and illegible. I mix English and Telugu while writing the recipe as some of the Telugu letters have become difficult for me to write.
Eggplant Kurma
Here’s one such recipe that I wrote from Eenadu and it’s my absolute favorite eggplant dish I tried it right away. Small eggplants are slit and stuffed with filling in the original recipe, but I’m super lazy to do that extra step, so I chopped the eggplant into big wedges and cooked in the gravy instead.

Ingredients:
Eggplants – 10-12, medium size
Onion – 2 medium, chopped
Grated dry coconut – 2tbsp
Roasted Peanuts – 3tbsp
Sesame seeds – 1tbsp
Ground coriander – 1 tbsp
Ground Cumin – ½ tsp
Ground fenugreek – ¼ tsp
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Ginger + garlic paste – 1tsp
Red chili powder – 2tsp (or to taste)
Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
Fenugreek seeds (Menthulu) – a few
Curry leaves – 6-8
Salt – to taste
Coriander leaves – ¼ cup, roughly chopped
Yogurt – ½ cup

Vankaya Kurma
Method:
  • With the crown portion of the eggplant still intact, slit them into 4 pieces or if you are like chop the crown out and cut eggplant into 4 separate wedges.
  • Heat 1tbsp oil in a sauté pan and fry onions until browned and slightly caramelized. Remove and keep aside.
  • Fry sesame seeds until light brown; set aside.
  • Grind peanuts, sesame seeds, grated coconut, ground coriander, cumin, fenugreek pd, yogurt, onions, turmeric, red chili pd, salt, ginger+garlic paste and coriander leaves into a smooth paste using very little water.
  • Stuff the eggplants with the paste (or not if you are following my lazy advise) and save the leftover paste for later.
  • Heat 2tbsp oil in the same sauté pan, add cumin & fenugreek seeds and once they start to splutter, gently slide in the stuffed eggplants (or the wedges and all of the ground paste); cover and cook on low flame.
  • After the eggplants are cooked through, add the remaining masala paste mixed with ½ cup of water. Simmer for 5-6 minutes.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice or roti.
Vankaya Kurma
This is going to Aipi’s Bookmarked recipe every Tuesday event.







Signature

18 comments:

  1. Love that creamy, flavoursome, aromatic looking gravy.....

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  2. Nice recipe...looks creamy n yum ...nice pic

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  3. just reading all the ingredients makes me hungry for this! What a great looking eggplant dish and I know my hubby will love this one as he is a BIG eggplant lover :)

    Thanks a lot for linking this to bookmark event :)

    US Masala

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  4. vankaya kurma looks absolutely delicious!...if I bring small vankais, i mostly make kurma out of it!
    Smitha
    Smitha's Spicy Flavors

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  5. It's been so long since I had gutti vankaya and I only lie it with tiny brinjals. I don't mkae brinjal very often as I am the only one who has to eat it! Kurma looks creamy and delicious!

    Coming to bookmarks, I have so many of them and don't know when I will cook all those recipes.

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  6. Loved the way u have replaced water with h2o..science in cooking??..he he..:)
    eggplant kurma looks really yummy...chaala bagundi..:)

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  7. Mouthwatering curry.goes well with rotis.

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  8. My mom makes a similar one but it would be dry..This looks yummy :)

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  9. Vankaya Kurma chala bagundi Pavani garu.. looks so tempting and inviting.. thanks for the awesome recipe :)

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  10. Anything brinjal I love it! Very creamy and delicious look!

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  11. super tempting pics! Love the preparation and the spices :)

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  12. Slurp, absolutely delicious, its has been a long i had tiny brinjals as kurma, looks sooo marvellous and inviting..

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  13. Thank you Lubna.

    Thanks Priti.

    Aipi, Thanks for having the weekly bookmarked recipes event, I think I might be able to clear up some of my bookmarks by cooking for the event.

    Smitha, Peanuts & vankaya combo is my fav. too.

    Usha, You seem to be sailing in the same overflowing bookmarked recipes boat :-)

    Good eye Prathibha. Yup, science and cooking go hand in hand, don't you think!! :-)

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  14. Thanks Savitha. Curry goes well with some jeera rice or peas rice too. Do try.

    Thanks Chitra.

    Thanks Chandana.. Try chesi cheppandi, nanchindho ledho.. :-)

    Thanks Cham. Same here, anything with eggplant is devoured by me.

    Thanks Priya.

    Thank you Krithi.

    Thanks Priya.

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  15. I love eggplant anything...:)
    I loved the pic with the lil telugu notes in it:)

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  16. I used to wonder on that too Pavani..if I will ever be able to attempt at all those files that I have collected over the years. Like you, I have neatly filed about 3 of them..they are huge. On top I still have so many of Mom's and MIL's that I am yet to make..:)..vankaya kurma looks so tempting..and lovely handwriting..I hardly write these days, then I forget the spellings what with the dictionary always available..that's pathetic I know...can't help it though..

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  17. Thank you Sharmi.

    Thanks Valli. I know most of us have stopped writing altogether, typing has taken over so much, that my hands shake when I try to write in Telugu.:-)

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