Yum! Yum! Yum!

Today I have tried Vankaya Tomato Curry recipe from Vah Reh Vah site, this is so different than my usual recipe and came out with a special flavor. Peanut and Sesame masala added very creamy flavor to this curry and frying the eggplant first makes the eggplant look separate from gravy ( than getting mixed up). Original recipe fries the eggplant, I altered the recipe to cut down the deep frying and shallow fried the eggplants. This recipe used more Oil than my usual recipe, I bet, the taste comes from this extra oil. Here is the recipe, Njoy!


Ingredients:
Vankaya - 3 ( Medium Long Philippine Eggplant)
Onion - 1
Green Chili  - 2
Tomato - 3
Red Chili - 2
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 5
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 3 Tbsp
Cilantro - 1 Tbsp

Masala:
Peanuts - 2 Tbsp
Sesame Seeds - 1 Tbsp

Preparatory Steps:

Dry Roast Peanuts in a small non-stick pan for 2 min. Switch off the heat, in the same pan add sesame seeds so that they can get roasted while the pan is still hot for 1 min. Take it off from the heat and let it cool, transfer this to small mixie jar and grind it into fine powder and keep it aside.  Chop Onions, Tomatoes into small cubes.  Remove the stems of Eggplant and chop into medium size cubes. Heat 2 Tbsp of Oil in a medium size non-stick pan, once the oil is hot, add Eggplant Cubes to the Pan and saute them for 3 to 5 min until the eggplants becomes tender with out getting mushed up ( or loosing their shape).

Method:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in the heavy bottom pan. Add red chili, chana dal, urad dal, as lentils starts browning, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. 
2. Add chopped green chili and onions to the tempering. Add 1 tsp of turmeric powder to onions and saute the onions for 5 min until the raw smell goes away. Add chopped tomato cubes to the onion mixture and mix well; close the lid and cook for 5 min. By this time, tomatoes comes together and becomes like gravy. Now add red chili powder and coriander powder to tomato gravy and mix well into the gravy. 
3. Add sauteed eggplant pieces to gravy and coat with gravy. Now add Peanut and Sesame masala to the gravy, mix it into gravy and cook for 5 min. Top with Cilantro, switch off the stove. Leave the curry in pan for 5 min and then transfer it to serving bowl and serve  with hot white rice. 

Tips:

• For more authentic taste you can grind the peanuts and sesame powder in mortar & pestle by hand than using mixie/grinder.  Sesame masala adds lot of flavor to this curry and making it delicious. 
• Frying the eggplants up front keeps their shape to be remained with out getting mushed up, even they dropped into gravy. so don't mix often with spatula while frying the eggplants.
• Use Juicy and Cluster tomatoes to make this gravy.