I’m sure by now you must have realised my love for brinjals. This gorgeous looking purple beauty with its glossy skin is such a versatile vegetable. I have already said so much about this veggie, so I’m going to keep it very simple. I get so excited every time I venture anything new with this veggie and I must say, it never disappoints me. There are myriad ways to cook this purple beauty and today I’m sharing Brinjal Fry Andhra Style aka Vankaya Ulli karam.
Onions are quintessential ingredient in Indian cooking and this dish utilises onions in a very traditional way. Ulli karam is nothing but onion red chilli paste. The cooked version of this ulii karam aka Onion Chutney is so versatile that it goes with idli, dosa and it tastes best when applied on dosas. Click here to check Onion chutney or Ulli karam recipe. In todays recipe, brinjal pieces are roasted on low heat along with raw onion chilli paste till you get a succulent yet crispy texture. The taste of the dish depends on the spices that go into this paste. Small tender brinjals work best for this recipe.
Brinjal Fry Andhra Style happens to be one of the trademark curries from my kitchen and a favourite in my family. This is such a simple recipe and makes a delectable side to rasam, pappu charu or tomato dal.
Now, about salting brinjals and draining. Stop salting your brinjal because you think it’s going to remove bitterness. Most brinjals are not bitter these days. Salting brinjal will improve texture if you’re frying it. Salt can actually prevent the aubergine from absorbing more oil and you can still keep applying it before cooking to avoid the extra calories.
A lot of people carry a great dislike for brinjals, but if it’s cooked well, it can be absolutely delicious. So give it a try and fall in love with this Brinjal Fry Andhra Style.
Off to the recipe!!
Steps in making Brinjal Fry Andhra Style | Vankaya Ulli karam:
- Rinse the brinjals with running water.
- Trim the brinjal stalk and stem. Cut into 4 pieces lengthwise and let them rest in salt water.
- Roughly chop onions.
- Using a blender make a coarse paste of onions, red chillies, cumin seeds, curry leaves and garlic pods. Keep side.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and add mustard seeds.
- Drain and add the brinjal pieces to the oil once mustard seeds splutter.
- Add turmeric powder and sprinkle a pinch of salt.
- Simmer to low heat, close the lid and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Open the lid and you see that the brinjal pieces have become slightly soft.
- Now add the ground Onion paste or Ulli karam and cook on medium heat.
- Sauté for a minute, add required salt and few more curry leaves
- Stir and roast till the raw onion smell vanishes and you get a nice dark brown colour and but do not burn it. This may take about 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure to give it a mix in between.
- Turn off the heat once done.
- Serve Brinjal Fry Andhra Style with hot rice along with sambar, rasam or dal. It also goes well with roti or paratha.
Brinjal Fry Andhra Style | Vankaya Ulli karam
Ingredients
- 10 small Brinjals
- For Ulli Karam Onion Paste:
- 2-3 Large onions
- 5 to 6 Red chilies
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 2 to 3 Garlic pods
- A sprig of Curry leaves
- Other Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- A sprig of Curry leaves
- Required Salt to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the brinjals with running water.
- Trim the brinjal stalk and stem. Cut into 4 pieces lengthwise and let them rest in salt water.
- For Ulli Karam or Onion Paste:
- Roughly chop onions. Make a coarse paste of onions, red chillies, cumin seeds, curry leaves and garlic pods. Keep side.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and add mustard seeds.
- Drain and add the brinjal pieces to the oil once mustard seeds splutter.
- Add turmeric powder and sprinkle some salt.
- Simmer to low heat, close the lid and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Open the lid and you see that the brinjal pieces have become slightly soft.
- Now add the ground Onion paste or Ulli karam and cook on medium heat.
- Sauté for a minute, add required salt and few more curry leaves
- Stir and roast till the raw onion smell vanishes and you get a nice dark brown colour but do not burn it. This may take about 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure to give it a mix in between.
- Turn off the heat once done.
- Serve Brinjal Fry Andhra Style with hot rice along with sambar, rasam or dal. It also goes well with roti or paratha.
Notes
2. Add cut brinjal pieces to salt water. Salting helps to drain the brinjals of the moisture by removing the air pockets.Then less fat is absorbed by the brinjals when they are cooked.
3. Fry well till the raw onion smell vanishes.
Check out other brinjal/eggplant recipes from blog-
- Green Eggplant potato Curry
- Stuffed eggplant / Gutti Vankaya
- Eggplant stir-fry with spicy lentil powder
- Baingan bartha
Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
