Brinjal and Pigeon Pea (Tur Dal) dry curry | How to Make Brinjan and Tur Dal Curry
This Andhra recipe is made by mixing soaked pigeon peas and paste of coconut and green chillies in boiled Brinjals. It is great when eaten with hot rice.
A special feature of this recipe is that we do not use onion or garlic in the recipe. So we can have it for festival meals also.
Brinjals are described as the king of vegetables by the Telugu people. Any day Brinjals and Gongura cooked (Roselle in English/ Ambada in Urdu or Hindi), it is a special day for the Telugu household!!!.
The Iguru (Dry curry) of Brinjals and Tur Dal has almost become a forgotten recipe among the Telugus these days. It is a recipe of a bygone era. This tasty Brinjal curry was taught to me by a 85 year old granny. She told me that it was a special recipe of her mother-in-law! When I went to her house for a meal, I was given this curry with ridge Gourd (Turai) chutney. I liked it immensely. I asked for the recipe of this wonderful preparation immediately. I am posting the same recipe to you all now. This curry is wonderful with its complex flavours of the mild tang of tamarind, the fresh sweetness of coconut and the sharp bite of the green chilli. Dry Chilli powder is not used in this recipe.
You may also like this Brinjal Fenugreek Fry
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Tips
Brinjals:
- The long purple variety of Brinjals taste very good for this curry. This variety of Brinjals are called ‘mulla vankaya’ by the Telugu people. If this variety is not available we can use the light green long variety of Brinjals. Avoid using the round purple cluster Brinjals. When over -ripe, this variety of Brinjals acquire a bitter taste.
- Brinjals should be boiled in tamarind water till they are about 80% soft. If we boil Brinjals too soft, the curry turns out too mish-mash by the time it is fully cooked.
- If the Brinjals are tender, the seeds will be less. The Brinjal will melt in the mouth like cream.
Pigeon Peas (Tur Dal):
- Tur dal should be washed and soaked for over an hour. It is then easier and quicker to cook. We can use Green Gram (Moong Dal), Bengal Gram (Chana Dal), or boiled cowpea Beans (Lobia) in place of Tur Dal
Brinjal and Pigeon Pea (Tur Dal) dry curry | How to Make Brinjan and Tur Dal Curry - Recipe Video
Brinjal and Pigeon Pea (Tur Dal) dry curry | How to Make Brinjan and Tur Dal Curry
Prep Time 5 mins- Soaking Time 1 hr
- Cook Time 20 mins
- Total Time 1 hr 25 mins
Ingredients
- 1/2 kg Light Purple coloured Tender Brinjals
- 1/2 Cup Tamarind Water (Extracted from a Gooseberry sized ball of Tamarind)
- 6-7 Green chillies
- 1/2 Cup Coconut
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tbsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 tbsp Black Gram dal (Urad Dal)
- 2 Springs Curry Leaf (Karepak)
- Coriander Leaves (Kothmir) (a little)
- 400 ml Water
- 1 tbsp . Bengal Gram (Urad Dal)
Instructions
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Boil long purple Brinjals cut into 2” long pieces in tamarind water until the Brinjals are about 80% soft.
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Strain the cooked Brinjals and let them cool down.
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Make a fine smooth paste of coconut and green chillies.
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Heat oil and fry mustard seeds, black gram and Bengal gram. Then add the curry leaves.
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To the fried seasoning add the cooked Brinjals, the soaked Tur Dal. Let it cook for three minutes.
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After three minutes, add the Coconut-Chilli paste and Salt and cook till the Tur Dal
gets soft. (Keep stirring now and then to avoid the curry sticking to the bottom of the pan).
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Before taking the pan off the stove, sprinkle the coriander leaves on the curry. This curry tastes very good with served in combination with hot rice.
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