Brinjal Curry (ಮಟ್ಟಿನ ಗುಳ್ಳ ಹುಳಿ)

 Traditional way of cooking Brinjal Curry. Gulla (in Kannada language - Karnataka) means Brinjal or Egg plant.
Mattina Gulla or A special variety of Brinjal curry is a gravy dish and one of the side dish. Mattina Gulla is a special variety of Brinjal grown near a particular place called " Mattu" near Udupi Karnataka. This variety of brinjal is available in certain months of the year. It is some thing different from the normal brinjal, cooks out fast and it has got its own taste. Different types of dishes are prepared using these brinjals.

Ready to Serve  Brinjal Curry

Lets see some benefits of having brinjals in our diet.
Brinjals are known as the king of vegetables. It is very good for weight loss because they contain very low calories. They are full of fiber. Brinjals help to control blood pressure diabetic and blood sugar.They contain good amount of antioxidant properties.They help to lower the cholesterol level. They are rich in fiber, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin B-6.

This curry has sweet and sour taste. I used jaggery, coconut, spices and tamarind. Little fried urid dal is used for thickening the curry. The fresh coconut oil is added at the last stage. Since we are from South Canara ( Udupi - Mangalore side) , we love the aroma of coconut oil. I fried the spices with little (1/2 Teaspoon) Safola green corn oil and at the last step added 1 table spoon of coconut oil. It not only adds to the taste fresh oil is good for health. (Not too much of course). Brinjal curry goes well with almost all main dishes. It is one of the yummy dish mixes well with plain rice, idli, dosa, chapatis, roti, poori and rotti and other main dishes as I said earlier.
No Onion or No garlic Recipe 

Things Needed :

1) To Cook 
Brinjals : 2
Jaggery : 2 Tablespoons
Green Chilly : 1
Salt : to taste
Turmeric Powder : a pinch

2) The spice used for frying and grinding
Red chilly : Byadagi (or any) : 4 to 6
Urid Dal : 1 Teaspoon
Coriander Seeds : 1 Tablespoon

Ingh : a pinch
Tamarind : One marble size
Coconut : 3 to 4 Tablespoons

3) For seasoning :
Methi seeds( Fenugrik seeds) : 1/4 Teaspoon

Mustard seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Curry leaves : 5 to 6
 Adding at the last step :
Coriander leaves : 1 Tablespoon

Coconut oil or Ghee : 1 Tablespoon

Method :

1. Wash and cut brinjals into big pieces and put in a big bowl of water for at least 10 minutes.

2. Wash and cut coriander leaves and keep it aside.
3. Grate fresh coconut and keep it aside.
4. Keep a small pan and put a drop of oil and fry urid dal till red. Add coriander seeds, red chilly, little ingh. (Fry for 1 to 2 minutes).

5.Let it cool. Grind this fried mixture with coconut and tamarind till paste. (Use little water while grinding).
6. Remove from the mixi jar and keep it aside.

7. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add 1 tea spoon of oil , mustard seeds and methi seeds. Let mustard seeds splutter.
8. Add ingh and curry leaves. Squeeze out the water from cut brinjal pieces and add this to a splutter mixture.

9. Stir slowly and add turmeric powder. Add a cup of water and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

10. Add salt and jaggery once the brinjal is half cooked. (just after 1 minute).

11. Now add ground masala and cook for another 2 minutes. (Let all the spice mixture mix it well. Stir in between)

12. Once it is done add coriander leaves and put the ready brinjal curry to a serving bowl. Add a table spoon of fresh coconut oil or a tea spoon of fresh ghee.

Note : 

You can add 1 teaspoon of soaked raw rice instead of urid dal(used it while frying the spices). Adding onions and garlic is purely optional. Adding a green chilly gives good aroma. You can add little garam masala if you are using this curry to chapatis or pooris
You can also add any dal to this curry. (Toor or Moong dal but the taste differ). I have not added. If you use dal reduce coconut quantity, You can prepare any type of brinjals. But the round green brinjals taste better. Using coconut oil is optional. Do not use the old coconut oil. The curry smells bad and you may not be able to eat the food. (Make sure the oil is fresh). We use freshly bought coconut oil from our village. You can use a teaspoon of ghee instead of coconut oil. I used Safola green for seasoning and frying the spice.
Time : 10 minutes.
Serves :  3 to 4

Brinjal - Mango Stuffed Curry

Brinjal Mango Stuffed curry is a dry curry and it is easy to prepare.
Brinjal stuff is normally done with roasting and dry grinding or grinding the ingredients with little water  and then stuff the spice inside  brinjal and then you cook it till its soft. It is one of the famous North Canara dish and now famous world wide. It goes well with Jolada Rotti (Millet roti) or chapatis or pooris or with plain rice. I have chosen an easy method and used very little spice.
Lets see some benefits of eating Brinjal and Raw Mango in our diet.
Brinjal or baingan or eggplant is known to be king of vegetables. They are high on nutrients, full of fiber and antioxidants. They are good for diabetes,control the blood pleasure and weight loss. It also helps to lower the cholesterol. The antioxidants and vitamins present in brinjals can prevent the skin from wrinkles and it helps to flushes the toxins from our body and gives our skin healthy glow. You must eat brinjal at least once a week.
Raw Mango is loaded with Vitamin C. Raw mango helps to improve immune system as it contain vitamin C. They also contain B Vitamins that help to retain good health. They are good help for indigestion. It also relieve constipation. Raw mango helps to cleanses the intestine and clear off indigestion and infections. They also contain Vitamin A and E that enhances human hormonal system.
It is an easy recipe and not much of preparation is needed either.You can set your spice more or less but remember though not so much but little spicy is always better with brinjal.
It is purely No Onion or No garlic curry and any one is wish to add its purely optional.

Things Needed :

For Stuffing

Small Brinjals :10

Raw Mango : Grated : 1 Cup
Channa powder (besan) : 1 Table spoon
Roasted ground nut powder : 2 Table spoons
Rasam Powder : 2 Table spoons
Jeera : 1 Tea spoon
Salt : to taste

For Seasoning and cooking :
Oil : 2 Table spoons
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Tea spoon
Urid Dal : 1/2 Tea spoon
Methi seeds :  4 to 6 seeds 
Curry leaves : One handful
Coriander leaves : 2 to 3 Table spoons.
Coconut : 2 to 3 Table spoons.
Turmeric powder : a pinch
Ingh : a little
Water : 1/2 Cup

Method :

1. Wash and cut whole brinjal till the end (Do not cut the end part) and soak them in a bowl full of water.

2. Dry roast ground nuts and remove the skin. Dry grind it with 1/2 Tea spoon of jeera.
3. Grate coconut and mango and keep it aside.

4. Now put all the ingredients in a plate, like groundnut powder, besan flour, rasam powder, jeera powder, salt, grated coconut and a spoon of grated raw mango.

5. Mix all these ingredients nicely and stuff this inside each brinjal and arrange them in a plate. Keep this aside.

6. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add oil, mustard seeds, methi seeds, urid dal and let the mustard seeds splutter.

7.Add curry leaves and ingh. Arrange the stuffed brinjals nicely and put the remaining powder. (If it remains after stuffing).

8.Add a table spoon of grated mango and a pinch of turmeric powder and little salt. Stir slowly.
9.Add half cup of plain water and cook on medium flame till they turn soft. Stir in between so that it does not get burnt.

10. Cover the lid and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. ( Stir in between).
11. Open the lid and just prick with the end of a tea spoon or knife to check. whether its done.

12. Shift the ready brinjal stuff and put coriander leaves and a table spoon of grated raw mango on the top and serve.

 I used this Brinjal - Mango Stuffed Curry and Corn Salad in Chapati and prepared chapati roll. We had Stuffed brinjal Chapati Roll with cup of curd.

Note :

You can add little jaggery if you want a sweet taste. I did not add jaggery or sugar. You can also fry cut onions and then add stuffed brinjals after that and cook. You can use more oil if you wish to. It is not a healthy option. I have used Totapuri Mango. ( Its not that tangy). You can also add little garam masala to the mixture . It gives a different taste. You can roast and dry grind groundnuts previous day or store this in the fridge. (not more than a week). It saves the time. MTR or Mayya's Rasam can be used instead of homemade rasam powder. It also saves time. I used home made rasam powder. Rasam powder also can be prepared and stored.
Preparation time  : 10 minutes.
Cooking Time : 10 minutes.
Total Time : 20 minutes.

Serves : 4 to 5.

Moong -Brinjal Dry Curry

Ready to Serve Moong - Brinjal Dry Curry

Moong Brinjal dry curry is a side dish. We can have plain Rice, chapatis, roti, or pooris with this curry. Using Moong dal in our diet is one of the very good thought since Moong contain a whole lot of beneficial content. I just of combining Brinjal and Moong together and it tasted very well. The recipe is very simple and any one easily prepare Moong - Brinjal Dry curry and enjoy eating it.
Lets see some benefits of adding Moong Dal  and Brinjal in our diet.
Moong Dal helps to control the blood pressure, it is good source of iron and protein and dietary fiber. It is low in fat and rich in potassium, calcium and B Complex Vitamins. It is easy to digest and and helps to decrease high cholesterol.
Brinjal is high in fiber and antioxidants. It is good for weight loss and helps to prevent heart diseases. Brinjal helps to control the blood pressure and good for diabetics. It helps to control and lower the cholesterol.
Now lets see the recipe. This recipe has no onion or garlic and we can prepare this dish for any special days or on festival days. It goes well with almost all main food items.

Things needed : 

Brinjal : 5  to 6 ( I used the small round brinjals )
Moong Dal : 1/2 Cup
Green chilly : 2
Curry Leaves : 5 to 6
Coriander Leaves : 2 Table spoons
Lemon juice : 1 Table spoon
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Tea spoon
Jeera : 1/2 Tea spoon
Ingh : a pinch
Ginger : 1 Tea spoon (grated)
Coconut : 2 Table spoons
Salt : required
Oil : 1 Table spoon
Turmeric Powder : a pinch.

Method :

1.  Wash and cut brinjal and put them in normal water. Keep it aside. Wash green chilly and cut them in to big pieces.

2.  Wash dal and roast them for 3 to 4 minutes. Grate coconut and keep it aside.
3.  Wash and remove the outer skin of ginger and grate it and keep it aside.
4.. Now keep a pan on the fire and heat. Put a spoon of oil and heat.
5. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add jeera and ingh. Fry for 10 seconds
6. Add Green chilly and fry and then add roasted moong dal and stir nicely.

7. Remove the brinjal pieces from water and squeeze out the water and add brinjal pieces to moong dal mixture.

8. Mix it nicely and add a 1/2 cup of water and cook on medium heat. Add grated ginger.

9. Let it cook nicely. Add pinch of turmeric powder and required salt.

10. Stir slowly and let the moisture in the curry dry up.
11. Add coconut when all the water dries up in the curry. Put off the gas.. Add Lemon extract and mix it well.

12. Add coriander leaves and shift  Moong -Brinjal dry curry to a serving bowl. Serve with the main dish you prepared.

Note : 

Do not use lot of water. The curry turns watery and brinjal and Moong will be overcooked and might not taste good. Adding more chilly is an option. Adding onions and garlic also purely optional. No need to add more oil.
Time : 20 Minutes.
Servings : 3.

Brinjal - Capsicum - Tomato Curry

Brinjal - Capsicum - Tomato Curry is a thick gravy dish and it can be prepared within 10 minutes since all these vegetables can be cooked quickly. This curry can be eaten with chapatis, dosas, idli roti, poori or even plain rice.
Any type of brinjal can be used to cook this curry but the long brinjal taste good and gives a good colour too.

Let us see some benefits of having Tomatoes in our diet.
Tomatoes are one of the low calorie vegetables. They are an excellent sources of antioxidants, dietary fiber, minerals and Vitamins. the antioxidants present in tomatoes are scientifically found to be protective of cancers,  Tomatoes contain very good level of Vitamin A ( helps to have good vision and healthy bones),  Vitamin C  (antioxidant), potassium and iron. Potassium and iron are essential for maintaining normal blood health. Vitamin K  present in tomatoes controls bleeding and blood clotting. Tomatoes help in blood circulation. Tomatoes help to decrease the level of cholesterol in the blood. They help to reduce the deposition of fats in the blood vessel. Eating tomatoes  help us to keep our digestive system healthy and prevents the constipation and diarrhoea. It also helps to prevent jaundice and effectively removes toxins from the body. .

Here is a recipe of quick dish " Brinjal- Capsicum -Tomato curry " which is easy to prepare and I am sure all age group will surely love to have the curry.

Ingredients :

Brinjal :  5 to 6 (long shaped brinjals and it is also called Mysore brinjals)

Tomatoes : 4 to 5 (Medium sized)
Capsicum : 1
Rasam Powder : 2 Tea spoons
Garam Masala : 1/2 Tea spoon
Green Chilly : 1
Jeera : 1/4 Tea spoon
Mustard Seeds : 1/2 Tea spoon
Methi Seeds : 1/4 Tea spoon
Turmeric powder : a pinch
Oil : 1 Table spoon
Salt : required
Jaggery : 1 Tea spoon
Curry Leaves : 6 to 8
Coriander Leaves : 2 Table spoons
Ingh : a pinch

Method : 

1. Wash and cut brinjal, capsicum  and tomatoes  into small,  slit green chilly and grate ginger. Keep it aside.
2. Put cut brinjal in a bowl of water to avoid brinjal turning black and also it helps the bitter taste go away from brinjal.

3. Now Keep a pan on the fire and put oil. Heat the pan and put mustard seeds and methi seeds. Let the mustard splutter.
4. Add slit green chilly and jeera to the oil. Add ingh and curry leaves. Mix it well and fry for 5 seconds.

5.Squeeze out the water from the brinjal and put it to the seasoning mix and fry nicely for 1 minute.
6. Add cut tomatoes and capsicum and mix nicely and add turmeric powder.

7. Add  1/2 cup of water and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in between.

 8. Add Rasam Powder, Garam Masala powder, jaggery and Salt. Stir slowly till it get thickening. The curry is done.

9. Shift Brinjal - Capsicum - Tomato curry to a serving dish and add coriander leaves on the top and serve.

Note:

No need to add more oil. Do not add more water. Do it on a  medium flame. You can add Kasoori Methi if you wish instead of Mdthi seeds. Adding salt is optional. You can also add cut onions and garlic while frying brinjal (I have not added). (optional). You can also add a spoon of besan on the top of the curry and fry on low flame. It adds to the thickness of the curry and taste differ.
Time : 15 minutes
Serves : 3