Kathrika Pitla (Eggplant Coconut Curry)

This is another recipe I have tried from The Budding Cook within the same week. It came out so good.I made it for the breakfast club my husband belongs to (yeah yeah his club and I cook) and I got fantastic feedback from everyone.Thanks again Budding Cook.This is her recipe.

Ingredients:
6-7 brinjals, cubed and placed in a bowl of salted water to prevent discoloration.
A big ball of tamarind soaked in hot water
1-2 tsp brown sugar or jaggery (optional)(I did not add it)
½ cup cooked toor dal/split pigeon peas

For roasting and grinding:
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp urad dal/white lentils
1 Tbsp chana dal/split chickpeas
1 ½ Tbsp coriander seeds
5-8 red chillies
2-3 Tbsp coconut

For seasoning:
I Tbsp Oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp urad dal/white lentils
4-5 curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida

Method:
Cook the eggplant cubes with some salt in the tamarind extract. Add the jaggery. Cook till eggplants are soft.

Add the roasted and ground spice mixture to the cooked eggplants and cook on medium heat for 2-4 minutes.

Add the cooked dal to the above mixture. Add desired amounts of water depending on the consistency required. Cook for 5 minutes or so. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat.

In a small pan, heat the oil and add all the ingredients for seasoning. Pour the seasoned oil over the pitla.

This went very well with the Ven Pongal I had made for the club.