Home cook Sharmini Jayawardena
This is Sri Lankan, Sinhala cuisine. Brinjal curry is a side dish to be served with plain steamed rice and other accompaniments. It goes well with along with dhal curry, chicken curry, mutton curry or wild boar curry, potato tempered, pol sambol, seeni sambol, salaadhey and other side dishes.
Ingredients
3 large brinjals
8 red onions (small onions)
1 1/2 tsps spice mix
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
4 small green chilies
5 curry leaves
3/4 cup of light coconut milk
Salt to taste
1 large bowl of water to dunk the brinjals in after cutting them, so as to remove toxins.
Coconut oil for deep frying
Kitchen paper for draining
Method
1.Wash and slice the brinjals into strips of about two inches in length, like so ⬇️
2. Immerse the brinjals in a bowl of water while you get the other ingredients ready. place a weight on top like so ⬇️
3. Clean, wash and cut onions in to strips. If you are using big onions, slice them in half and cut them length wise.
4. Cut curry leaves in half.
5. Cut green chilies in half.
6. Squeeze the water out of the brinjals by squeezing a few strips together at a time in your hand, and place them in a colander.
7. Deep fry the brinjals a batch at a time. Once they are golden brown, drain them on kitchen paper.
8. Prepare the coconut milk in a bowl and pour in to the pan you’re using for cooking the curry in. Add all the ingredients and salt to taste into the pan and mix well. (I added about 3/4 tsp of salt).
- Place the pan on the stove and cook the ingredients together with the coconut milk until the onions become translucent.
10. Add the deep fried brinjals into pan and carefully stir once or twice so as not to damage the brinjal.
11. Allow the gravy to dry well. You can carefully stir the brinjals so it gets equally coated in the gravy.
12. Remove from fire and leave it open so the curry becomes dry.
13. This is a delicious dry curry. Serve on to a dish to be eaten with plain boiled rice and other accompaniments. It is a delicious accompaniment to be had with yellow rice and other savory rice dishes.
I will be sharing different Sri Lankan curries to be served with rice in up coming posts. These vegetable curries are ideal for vegetarians and vegans.
Brinjals or vambatu in Sinhala, meaning purple aubergine is believed to be a good vegetable for increasing brain power. The Sinhalese also believe that the taste of the brinjal lies in its stem. So I have cut the brinjal with the stem in tact, here.
