Gutti Venkaya Kura / Baby Eggplants in a spicy and tangy tamarind sauce

Gutti Venkaya

  Andhra recipes, anyone? Thanks to our neighbor Sushmita’s mother, Rajani Kumari, I am now crazy about Andhra food! The veggies are done totally different from the way its done in Kerala style cooking and it made me realize that I would never run out of recipe ideas. I would just have to probe a little more into Telegu style cooking..

  So this Gutti venkaya is a special recipe of Sushmita’s mom and what i noticed about aunty’s recipes, especially her chicken and fish dishes, is that it uses very less number of ingredients without any compromise on the taste factor ! To the special attention of my readers, gutti venkaya is nothing but an eggplant dish. A big thanks to Sushmita and her mom for the recipes! More and more yummy Andhra recipes on the way !

Ingredients (Serves  3 – 4)

1. Baby eggplants – 12

2. Oil – 3 tbsp

3. Onion – 1 cup, chopped

   Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp

   Green chilies – 2, slit

   Curry leaves – A few

4. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

    Chilly powder – 1/2 tsp

5. Salt – To taste

6. Tamarind – Small gooseberry sized (Soak it in 1/4 cup warm water and extract its juice)

7. Cilantro – 3 tbsp, chopped

To roast and grind

8. Oil – 1/2 tsp

9. Peanuts – 1.5 tbsp

    Dry red chilies – 4

    Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp

    Chana dal – 1/2 tsp

    Cloves – 3

    Cinnamon stick – 1/2 inch piece

    Sesame seeds – 1.5 tsp

    Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp

Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a small pan at medium or medium-low heat. Add peanuts and dry red chilies. Stir continuously for 2 minutes. Next add in coriander seeds and chana dal. Stir for 1 minute. Finally add in cloves, cinnamon stick, sesame seeds and cumin seeds. Stir for 1 minute and switch off. (Take care not to burn the spices). Grind to a coarse powder when it cools down.

Gutti Venkaya

Method

1. Wash the baby eggplants and pat dry. Slit each eggplant into 4 lengthwise, keeping the crown and stem intact. Heat 2 tbsp oil at medium heat. Add the baby eggplants, little salt and stir occasionally until they are fried and are almost cooked completely. Transfer them to a plate .

2. In the same pan, add 1 more tbsp oil. Add onion and saute until transparent. Next add ginger-garlic paste, green chilies and curry leaves. Saute until onion turns light golden in color. Add turmeric powder and chilly powder. Mix well and then add ground masala powder, fried eggplants, salt, tamarind juice and 1 cup hot water. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes until eggplants are done and oil floats on top. Garnish with cilantro. This tastes better after a few hours. Serve with rice, chapathis, pulav etc.

 

Gutti Venkaya Kura

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Maya Akhil

Wife, Mother, Blogger and above all, an ardent lover of good food. I cook, serve, and eat with almost the same passion. The divine aroma that fills the kitchen when I cook or bake is simply what keeps me going!

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Maya Akhil

Wife, Mother, Blogger and above all, an ardent lover of good food. I cook, serve, and eat with almost the same passion. The divine aroma that fills the kitchen when I cook or bake is simply what keeps me going!

Every Recipe Since 2010

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