Burnt Brinjal Chutney

FIL being a big fan of brinjals and eggplants, gets them almost every time he buys vegetables! But making the same thing over and over again does not interest me, nor him. So depending on what the brinjal side dish needs to go with, there will be a different item being dished out.

Be it a simple stir fry, or the more regular Burnt eggplant in coconut chutney, or a special Ennegai, or this chutney to be a little different, it is his favorite for sure!

This is quite easy to prepare - cook the brinjal on stovetop till the outer skin is browned, after which the skin is removed and ground with other ingredients to make a chutney. Tastes great with chapathis, rottis, esp Ubbu rotti, dosas and even with rice. It can be made with other round eggplants too, but this one tastes better.

Burnt Brinjal Chutney

Making time : 15 min
Serves : 4 -5

Ingredients:
Brinjals - 3, medium sized, slender green ones
Coconut - 2 Tbsp, grated
Green chilies - 5-6, depending on taste
Fried gram dal - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Coriander leaves - 1 Tbsp, chopped
Cooking oil - 1 tsp
Jaggery - a small pinch (optional)
Tamarind - a small marble sized ball
Salt - ½ tsp or as per taste
Turmeric - 1 pinch
For Tempering:
Cooking oil - 1 Tsp
Curry leaves - A few sprigs
Mustard seeds - 1 Tsp
Asafetida - a pinch, powdered

Method:
• Wash the brinjals, make sure there are no holes on the outer skin, which means there might be bugs inside
• Smear a few drops of oil over the brinjal
• Switch on the gas and place these brinjals directly over the flame
• Turn it around every now and then and ensure an even darkening of the outer skin. This will take around 2 minutes per brinjal.
• Poke the back of a spoon or a knife to check if it is cooked soft inside. Note that these need not turn completely black, just the wilting of outer skin is sufficient
• Repeat this for all the brinjals and set aside to cool
• Meanwhile, roast green chilies, curry leaves in a few drops of oil till they change color
• Once the burnt brinjals are cool enough to handle, peel the outer browned skin.
• Mash it lightly and grind with coconut, turmeric, salt, tamarind, jaggery, coriander leaves, adding a little water if needed
• Transfer the ground chutney to a serving bowl
For tempering / tadka:
• Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard and allow to splutter
• Add curry leaves
• Garnish with tadka

Notes:
• Do not make the chutney too smooth – a little coarse consistency will give a better taste
• You can just bake the brinjal in oven too. But make sure to prick some holes all over, to prevent it from bursting inside the oven!