Vankaya Pachadi

Vankaya pachadi is a flavorful South Indian chutney with eggplants. It is a great condiment for curd rice, a side dish for rice and Indian flatbreads.

Course Condiment, Side Dish

Cuisine Andhra Cuisine, Telangana Cuisine, Telugu Cuisine

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Cooling Time 10

Servings

Calories 95kcal

Author Usha Rao

Equipment

Cutting board & knife
Bowl of water
Frying pan or saute pan
Mixie / blender or a food processor

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Oil
2 Green Chilies
4 Curry Leaves
¼ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
⅙ teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
1 teaspoon Coriander Seeds
2 Garlic Cloves
¾ teaspoon Salt
Turmeric Powder
170 grams or 2 Indian Eggplants
½ tablespoon Tamarind Paste homemade or 1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds roasted, check notes for using un roasted seeds
2 tablespoon Cilantro chopped more for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped Red Onion for garnish

Instructions

Wash and cut brinjal into semi circles. Put them in a bowl of salted water until ready to use.
Take oil in a frying pan or a skillet and heat oil.
Once the oil is hot, add green chilies, curry leaves, garlic, mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek seeds. Sauté until chilies change color and seeds splutter.
If using unroasted sesame seeds, add now and roast for a few seconds.
Add turmeric powder, salt and mix well.
Remove brinjal pieces from water and add to pan. Sauté for couple minutes until brinjal changes color.
Cover the pan and cook on medium high heat for 2-4 minutes or until brinjal pieces are soft.
Remove the cover and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes until soft, mushy & finely roasted.
Add tamarind paste and mix well. If using roasted sesame seeds, add the seeds now.
Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool completely.
Transfer brinjal mixture to a blender/mixie jar, add some water and blend it to a fine paste. I prefer a coarse paste when serving with rice.
Adjust salt and tamarind to taste.
Before serving, add chopped red onions and cilantro. Serve with rice, roti or dosa.

Notes

Brinjal - Use purple brinjal/eggplants and both long and round variety work for this chutney. However, I prefer the long variety and in US, Chinese eggplants are good replacement for Indian long brinjals.
Always put cut eggplants in salted water until ready to cook, to avoid discoloration of eggplants.
Chilies - You can substitute green chilies with red chilies or use a combination or red and green chilies. Red chilies will give a reddish color to the chutney and the taste varies as well.
Sesame Seeds - If you do not have roasted sesame seeds handy, add the seeds in step 4, before adding brinjal.
Texture - I ground the chutney to a fine paste but you can grind it to a coarse paste as well. Coarse chutney goes very well with rice.
Garnish - Add chopped onions as before serving.
Tempering - I usually avoid pouring tempering over chutneys. However, for an added aroma and flavor, heat some oil, temper it with a red chili, 1-2 curry leaf, pinch of mustard & turmeric and pour over the chutney.
Nutrition - values are approximate calculations.

Nutrition