Roasted Eggplant Pickle (Vankaya Bajji)

Yum! The name itself makes my mouth-water. This is my most favorite kind of pickle with eggplant which is so aromatic and delicious. I have blogged about another kind of Eggplant Chutney before, in which we dice the eggplant to make chutney. In this recipe we use whole eggplant without its skin that was roasted to perfection.

Ingredients:

• 1 big, plump Eggplant, washed well
• 4 or 5 dry Red Chilies or Green Chilies
• 1 Tomato, chopped
• Handful of Cilantro Leaves, chopped
• Some Curry Leaves
• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ½ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
• ½ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
• ¼ tsp Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
• A pinch of Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Tamarind Pulp
• 2 tsp Oil
• Salt to taste
  

Preparation:

First we need to roast the eggplant until it becomes soft. Here are some methods to do it:

1. Place the eggplant on top of a stove with medium flame and roast till the skin becomes soft and mushy. Turn the eggplant to all sides to roast it equally on all sides.
2. Pierce the eggplant with a fork or knife at different places, as it helps the air from the eggplant to escape without exploding in the MW. Then place it on a MW-safe plate and microwave for 4 minutes on high and then flip it over and run the MW for another 2 minutes or until the eggplant feels soft and mushy when squeezed gently.
3. Place the eggplant (again after piercing it with a fork or knife) on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until eggplant appears to be soft and mushy.

I used stove-top method, because I like the burnt flavor. When it’s done, place the eggplant on a plate to cool it down for some time. If you’re in a hurry and want to handle the eggplant when still hot, best method is to place the eggplant in a bowl of water and peel the skin so that your hand won’t burn.

When the eggplant becomes cold, peel off the skin with hands (it’s so easy!). Take the pulp into a
different bowl and mash it well with a fork or a potato masher. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + Bengal Gram + Black Gram + red chili or green chili+ curry leaves and fry for some time until the dals turn golden brown in color.

Then add the tomato pieces and fry well until tomato becomes soft. To this, add the mashed eggplant + turmeric powder + tamarind pulp + cilantro and mix well. Leave it on low flame for 5 minutes. Then remove it from the stove and leave aside to cool.

When the mixture becomes cold, add it to a blender jar and grind until soft. No need to add extra water as eggplant already contains some water in it. Adjust salt and transfer the pickle to a serving bowl.

Enjoy this yummy, aromatic chutney with steaming hot rice and ghee.