BRINJAL THOKKU

INGREDIENTS:

Brinjal - 1/2 kg.

Tamarind - small lemon sized

Toor dhal - 2 tablespoons

Urad dhal - 2 tablespoons

Black pepper - 1/4 tsp. 

Dry red chillies - 4 or 5 

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp.

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp. 

Curry leaves  - few

Salt - to taste

Oil - 3 tablespoons

METHOD:

Wash and chop brinjals roughly. Heat a tablespoon of oil and saute the brinjals alongwith salt and turmeric powder until done. Keep aside to cool.

In a pan, heat a teaspoon of oil. Add  toor dhal, urad dhal, pepper, chillies and fry until golden brown. Grind alongwith tamarind. Finally, add sauted brinjals and grind to a paste.

Heat  the remaining oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.  When mustard seeds crackle, add the ground paste and saute until oil leaves the sides.  

When cool, store in a clean bottle. This can be mixed with hot rice. Also goes well with idli, dosa, poori, chappathi and curd rice.