Baby Brinjals in Tomato-Coconut Masala ~ For Eggplant fans!

Yes! I'm back with another Brinjal recipe :) My hubby is a big fan of eggplants and I'm trying new ways of serving his favorite veggie. I looked at these awesome baby brinjals in the market and was pulled towards them. They were smooth and shiny and really tiny, as if plucked fresh from the garden, before they could become bigger! :D

Look at the dish...these Baby Brinjals cooked in spiced Tomato-Coconut gravy paste...ah, so flavorful and cooked till soft  :) Don't you want to make this for the brinjal-lover in your family?

Baby Brinjals in Tomato-Coconut Masala

Ah...the gravy is the winner here :)

A Closer look...

What I Used -

Baby Brinjals - 15 nos
Ripe Tomatoes - 3
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Grated coconut - 3 tbsp
Fresh coriander / Cilantro - a few
Oil - 1 tsp + 1 tbsp

Whole Spices -

Black mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin / Jeera - 1 tsp
Fenugreek (mendayam) - 1/2 tsp
Dried Red Chillies - 2 nos

Masala powders -

Fennel powder (Sombu)- 1/4 tsp (Do not increase this, as it tends to be over-powering)
Kitchen King masala - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper-Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp

And the standard ones...

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

How To -

• Take a deep, non-stick kadai/wok and heat a teaspoon of oil. Let mustard seeds splutter. Follow with cumin, fenugreek, red chillies (stem removed and then broken into two) and funnel powder.
• Chop tomatoes fine and add to the kadai. Mix well with the whole spices. Keep the pan covered for 5 minutes.
• After tomatoes are cooked, add ginger-garlic paste and mix well.
• While the tomatoes are getting cooked, remove the stems of brinjals, slit them vertically and horizontally (don't quarter them!) while retaining them as whole.
• Add the baby brinjals now and cover the pan. Let them cook for 3 minutes.
• Add the masalas - Kitchen King, Coriander powder and Pepper-Jeera powder. I like to sprinkle the powders with my (clean!) fingers.
• Add turmeric, red chilli powder and salt. Mix well and let cook for 2 minutes.
• Toss the brinjals gently (without mashing them or breaking them) so that they get coated with the gravy. You may also try to fill in some paste into the brinjals.
• Drizzle some oil around the brinjals and toss once again. Close the pan and let them cook well for about 10 minutes. Make sure the veggies don't get burnt. Add some oil in-between if you need.
• You can see that the color of the skin of eggplants has turned from purple to brown. Sprinkle grated coconut and toss the veggies carefully. Cook covered for another 3 minutes. Switch off the flame.
• Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. 

Serve with white rice as such, or with rasam. I love this with Garlic/Poondu Rasam.

Baby Brinjals in tomato-Coconut Masala