Deconstructed Gutti Vankaaya kura

This is a Rachel Ray-like take on my favorite, Andhra classic Gutti Vankayaa kura, a delicious stuffed eggplant curry. It not only takes a lot of time but it relies on the availability of tiny, round brinjals at the local market. Good, small, round fresh eggplants that look like these are hard to come by. So this recipe recreates all the flavors and is also very quick-cooking dish.

Adding channa to eggplant dishes is my mom's tradition. I like the protein component. You can always leave it out.

Ingredients:

Tender, medium sized Indian eggplants or the Japanese ones- you should get about 4 cups, when they are quartered

1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp grated jaggery
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
salt
1 cup cooked channa

Dry roast and powder the following:

1 T sesame seeds
2 T roasted peanuts
1 T coriander seeds

Heat 1 T oil and saute the onions and ginger garlic paste until onions turn golden. Add tomatoes and turmeric and fry till pulpy and mashed. Add eggplant slices and salt. Sprinkle some water and cover and cook on medium-low heat till eggplant is 3/4 th cooked. Add tamarind paste, sesame powder, red chili powder and saute for another minute. Now add 1.5 cups of water, channa and the tamarind paste and let it come to a boil. The sauce will thicken quite a bit. If you want a watery gravy, you can add about 2 cups water. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve with rice or chapathis.