Iguru/ Vankaya-Senagapappu Iguru (Eggplant-Chana Dal Curry)

Blogging Marathon# 32: Letter I
Theme: A-Z Vegetarian Dishes from Andhra Pradesh
Dish: I for Iguru/ Vankaya-Senagapappu Iguru (Eggplant-Chana Dal Curry)

Finding dishes that start with vowels is hard. Letter 'I' was even harder. All I could think of was Idli, but no matter how hard I thought I couldn't think of an Andhra spin to good old idlis. After a lot of thinking (out loud), the remembered the word Iguru. One of our dear friends back home used to call some of the curries 'igurus'. I didn't know what it actually meant, so I asked my mom to research.
She came back and said that the curries that are made by evaporating the liquid (igaradam) are generally called 'igurus'. I took it as the curries that are made slightly wet, but not necessarily with a gravy, fall into this category.

Luckily after that I watched an episode on a Telugu cooking show where the chef made this Iguru which I promptly noted down and made it for today. This is a spicy and flavorful dish that is perfect when served with steamed rice and rasam.

Ingredients:

Baby Eggplant - 10-12, chopped
Chana Dal (senagapappu) - ½cup, soaked for 2 hours
Dry red chilies - 2
Garlic cloves - 3, crushed
Ginger - 1tsp, finely chopped
Green chilies - 2, finely chopped
Curry leaves - 6-8
Turmeric - ½tsp
Salt - to taste

For Tempering:
Chana dal (senagapappu) - 1tsp
Urad dal (minapappu) - 1tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp

Method:

• Heat 2tbsp oil in a saute pan; add the tempering ingredients and once the seeds start to splutter, add dry red chilies and the crushed garlic cloves. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Next add ginger, green chilies and curry leaves, cook for 1 more minute. Add the soaked chana dal and fry for 2-3 minutes.
• Next add chopped eggplant along with salt and turmeric. Cover and cook on medium flame until eggplant is completely cooked through and chana dal is tender, about 10-12 minutes.

Serve with rice or roti.

Logo courtesy : Preeti
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 32.
Previously on A-Z Vegetarian Dishes of Andhra Pradesh:
A for Aava Pettina Aratikaya Kura
B for Bagara Baingan
C for Chimmiri
D for Dosakaya Pachadi
E for Erra Gummadikaya Pulusu
F for Firni
G for Gongura Pulihora
H for Haleem/ Vegetarian Haleem