Ingredients

1. Brinjal - 5

For tadka

2. Oil - 3 tbsp
3. Black pepper corns - 1 tsp
4. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
5. Curry leaves - 15

For paste

6. Tomatoes - 3
7. Garlic cloves - 4
8. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
9. Curry leaves - 12
10. Coriander leaves (few) - 1 tbsp

For gravy

11. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
12. Vinegar - 2 tsp
13. Tamarind paste - 1 1/2 tsp
14. Chilli powder - 2 tsp
15. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
16. Water - 1 cup
17. Salt

Method

1. First grind all the ingredients for making the paste and keep it aside. You can add a little water and grind it.

2. Slit the brinjals and keep it aside.
3. Preheat the pressure cooker and add oil. When it gets warm add cumin seeds and black pepper seeds. When it splutters add curry leaves and brinjal and stir well. Be careful - oil can spill on you. Stir it for a few seconds. This is just roasting the brinjals in oil.

4. Then add all dry powder and mix well and add the paste. Mix quickly as it can splutter on you. Otherwise, just keep it off the stove and mix the paste.

5. After adding the paste, add all the remaining ingredients including salt and water. Mix well. Now close the lid and cook until done. I switched it off after 3 whistles from the cooker.

6. When you open the lid after sometime, you can see that a reddish gravy is formed and oil is left on top of the gravy. After this you can simmer the gravy for 10 minutes to get to the required consistency and then switch off.

7. If the gravy is very dry and thick, you can add a little water as per your required consistency and cook in simmer. Stir it slowly to keep the brinjals intact.
8. If you do not have a pressure cooker, just cook it in a vessel and add ingredients step by step and cook until the brinjals are cooked and gravy comes to the required consistency.
9. You can see in the picture how the brinjals have become very soft and a reddish gravy is formed with oil on top .

10. Serve it with naan, chapathi, or biryani or even with idli or dosa.

Notes

1. You can add dry spice powder after adding the paste to avoid the dry powders from burning.
2. It is easy to make as everything is added one at a time.
3. Tamarind, vinegar, chilli powder - you can adjust as per your taste.
4. When you add the paste in the gravy, it can spill on you. So be careful. Just keep it off the stove and add all the ingredients and mix it.
5. After cooking in cooker, if you want you can even avoid simmering, if the gravy is already in the required consistency.
6. To make it even easier, you can add ingredients like chilli powder, vinegar, etc directly while grinding and add this paste directly to the brinjals and cook.
7. You can keep this brinjal curry / ennai kathirikai kuzhambu in the fridge for more than a week. It will stay longer than other food as it contains tamarind and vinegar, which act as natural preservatives.