Vankayya Kothmeera Karam - Andhra Speciality

This is a very popular recipe in Andhra Pradesh - the state I grew up in. I firmly believe that the best eggplant/brinjal/aubergine recipes in India come from Andhra Pradesh. This dish is called Vankayya Kothmeera Karam - literally translates to Brinjal Cilantro Spice. :) How can you go wrong?

Ingredients -

• Indian Eggplants/Brinjal/Aubergine (the small purple ones) - about 10 -  cubed. Tip - as you are cubing the eggplants, immerse the cubed pieces in a bowl of salted water. This prevents them from browning & turning bitter. Just drain and add to the wok when ready to cook.
• Turmeric/Haldi pdr - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Dry Red chillies - 2  - broken
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Fresh lime/lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Rough grind/chop finely-

• Cilantro - 1/2 cup
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Green Chillies - 3-5

Heat oil in a wok, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add jeera, curry leaves and dry red chillies.
When the jeera browns, add the cubed eggplants, haldi and salt. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes.
Once the eggplants are about 3/4th the way cooked, add the rough ground mixture of cilantro, ginger and green chillies. Stir thoroughly.
Cook uncovered for another 5 minutes until the eggplants are fully cooked through. Don't over cook the eggplant at any stage - you don't want this to be too soft/mushy.

Once cooked, take off the stove and add some fresh lime/lemon juice.
Serve hot with roti/rice. Enjoy! :) You can also use the same spice mixture with other veggies.