Brinjal - Capsicum Fry

Brinjal/Egg plant/Badane Kai/ Kattarikai Fry is a dry curry. Brinjal/Egg plant is liked by many people. Brinjal/Egg plant is always available in the market. You get different varieties of Brinjals.

I have just tried this brinjal and capsicum dry curry. It is one of the good combination and capsicum goes well with Egg plant. I have used home made spices, and the curry turned as spicy and yummy. I do use brinjal very often because it is one of my favourite veggie. You can cook many types of dishes like, Sambar, Huli (with coconut) gravy, dry curry, gojju, baratha, Vanghi baat, brinjal bath etc etc etc. So the lists goes up. Of course the dish is with different varieties of brinjal.
One has to be very choosy whie buying brinjals. I say this because even if there is a dot on the brinjal, there might be worm inside. Fresh brinjals taste better and cooks quickly. It it is few days old, it might not cook and the dish do not taste good.
I have used sesame seeds, it adds to the taste and gives good aroma to the curry. Sesame seeds are good for health too.
Let us see some benefits of eating sesame seeds/ellu/til in our diet.
Sesame seeds contain many health benefits. They are loaded with nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. The seeds are rich in mono unsaturated fatty acids, They help to lower bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol in the blood. They are rich with dietary protein and good amount of amino acids. Amino acids are essential for growth, mainly children. They are rich source of B complex vitamin, minerals like calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium. These minerals helps the bones strong, red blood cell production, enzyme synthesis and hormone production.
As I said Brinjal-Capsicum fry is an easy and yummy dish, goes well with chapatis, rotis, poori and even plain rice.

Lets see the recipe now:

Things needed :

Brinjal : 5 to 6
Capsicum : 1 to 2
Chutney Powder : 1 Tablespoon
Puliyogre gojju : 1 Teaspoon
Sesame seeds : 2 Tablespoons
Methi/Fenugreek seeds : 1/4 Teaspoon
Coconut :  2 Tablespoons (1/4 cup)
Salt : to taste
Ingh : a pinch
Oil : 2 Tablespoons
Jeera : 1/2 Teaspoons
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Teaspoons
Curry Leaves: 5 to 6
Coriander Leaves : 2 Tablespoons.

Method :

1. Wash and cut brinjal and put it in a big bowl of water. Let it soak at least 5 minutes.
2. Wash and cut coriander leaves, capsicum and curry leaves.
3. Keep a pan and dry roast methi seeds and sesame seeds til sesame pops up. Leave it for cooling.

4. Grate or cut coconut and keep it aside.
5. Now dry grind grated coconut, roasted sesame-methi and chutney pudi. Remove powdered mixture to a clean plate or bowl.

6. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add oil and mustard seeds. Let it splutter.
7. Add jeera and fry for 5 seconds. Add, ingh, cut capsicum, curry leaves and fry till they turn soft.

Add cut brinjal and fry nicely. (At least 2 minutes).  Now add puliyogre gojju (tamarind ) , salt and turmeric powder.

8. Mix it nicely and Let it be on low flame. Stir in between so that it does not burnt.
9. Add dry ground mixture and mix it nicely. Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Mix it in between.
10. Now mix it again and add cut coriander leaves. Shift the dry brinjal -capsicum curry to a serving
bowl. Now Brinjal - Capsicum dry curry is ready to serve.

Note :

I have used home made chutney powder. Just roast, channa dal, urid dal, (equal portion) red chilly (byadgi chilly), ingh (a pinch), handful of curry leaves. Add a marble size of tamarind (remove the seeds from tamarind). Dry roast all these one by one. Dry grind when it is cooled.
Use of any brand chutney powder will serve the purpose. Do not add water. It may over cook and turn the brinjal into soft. Using jaggery is optional.( I did not add).
Adding garam masla /amchur powder (dry mango powder) or lemon is optional(lemon instead of tamarind pulp). Garam Masala gives a different taste. Adding more/less oil is optional.
Time : 20 Minutes.
Serves : 3.

Red Rice -Methi/Fenugreek Seeds Dosa

Methi/Mentya/Fenugreek Seeds & Red Rice Dosa is a healthy breakfast dish. It can be served as a snack in the evening or for dinner. 

READY TO SERVE MENTYA DOSA WITH JAGGERY , CHUTNEY POWDER AND SAMBAR

Methi/Mentya/Fenugreek seeds are one of the healthy spice seeds. Red rice and methi seeds are used and prepared dosa. Some time back I read that, some one wanted to know about using red rice. Red rice is better than fully milled rice/polished rice. One should know that even boiled rice (Kocchakki/Kusulakki as we say), parboiled rice/half boiled rice are also called as red rice. One should not mistake this particular red rice is raw. (In South Canara (Udupi, Mangalore and Malnad in Karnataka), we call it as kempakki/Jeddakki.
Preparing dosa with red rice bit better than using fully polished rice. It is a healthy way I can say.
I have used this red rice and methi seeds to prepare this Methi/Fenugreek Seeds dosa.
Fenugreek seeds are healthy seeds. In northern side of India people use methi leaves or kasoori methi (dried methi leaves) for almost all curries. Methi not only helps to thicken the curry, it also adds health benefits to the food.
Methi/ Fenugeek seeds are known as Methi in Hindi and Bengali, Methi Dhane - Marati, Vendyam in Tamil. In Malayalam - Uluva, Menthulu in Telugu and Menthya or Mentye in Kannada.
Lets see some benefits of using Methi/Fenugreek Seeds in our diet.
Methi seeds are not only used in cooking, it is one of the best seed which has medicinal values. They are rich source of minerals, vitamins and contain nutritious values. They contain fair amount of soluble dietary fiber. They help to lower the bad cholesterol level. It helps to digest the food easily and help in solving constipation problems. It also helps to lower the rate of glucose absorption in the intestines and helps to regulate blood sugar levels. They are good for people who suffer from diabetic people. They are excellent source of minerals like copper, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, manganese and magnesium. It also helps to control heart rate and blood pressure. Iron is essential for red blood cell production. Methi seeds are rich in many vital Vitamins like Vitamin B-6, Vitamin A, Vitamin-C and Folic acid.
Lets see the recipe now:

Ingredients :

Red Rice : 3 1/2  to 4 Cups
Methi/Fenugreek Seeds : 1/3 of the Cup .(Use the same cup or glass to measure).
Urid dal : 1 Teaspoon
Flatten/Beaten Rice : 2 Handful (thick/thin)
Salt : To taste
Water : Required
Oil: 2 to 3 tablespoons
Ghee : 2 Tablespoons (optional)

Method :

1. Wash and soak rice , methi seeds and urid dal for 3 to 4 hours.

2. Wash and soak flatten/beaten/awalakki in separate bowl.
3. Grind them with required water. (all the ingredients together).
4. Remove the dough from the grinder and leave it for fermentation. (Over night/ 5 to 6 hours).

5. Mix it well in the morning.
6. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Sprinkle oil and clean it with a kitchen tissue.
7. Take a ladle full of dosa batter and spread it as circle. ( Spread a little. (small size is always better).

8. Sprinkle oil on the top and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the other side and cook for a minute.

9. Serve hot and soft Red Rice - Methi Dosa with the side dish you prepared.

10. Add little ghee on the hot dosa just before serving. Repeat the same with remaining dough.

You Can also Try these from the same dough.
You can also add jaggery to this dough and prepare sweet dosa or guli appa. You can add spices like grated ginger, cut onions, coriander leaves and little coconut and prepare Methi Dosa or Guli Appa/ gundponglu/ kuli appam/paddu

Note : 

The dough should ferment well to prepare soft dosas or dosa might turn sagi.(rubber pulling feel while eating). No need to add more urid dal. Even with out urid dal the dosa will be nice. Do not try to spread the dosa in bigger circle. Just drop the dough on the hot tava and leave it as it is or slightly press with out putting force.(with the spoon you drop dough). No need to add any cooking soda or any other substance.(Eno, baking powder etc).
Time : Soaking time 3 hours + Dough fermenting  6 hours + Cooking time 30 minutes.
Total time : Nearly 10 hours. 
Serves : 4 to 5