The unique combination of chana dal and brinjals adds to the flavour of this gravy. It goes well with chapathis and plain rice. You can also substitute brinjals with beans, knolkhol, chow-chow or cabbage.
Ingredients:
Bengal gram dal or Chana dal – 1/2 cup
Brinjals – 2 medium size
Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Chillie powder – 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Tomato – 2 small
Onions – 1 big
Bay leaf – 1
Ground coconut paste – 1 1/2 tbsp
Water – 1/2 cup + 1 1/2 cup
Oil – 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder – a pinch
Garam masala powder:
Patta – 1 inch
Cloves – 4
Elaichi -2
Saunf – 1 tsp
In a kadai, saute all these without oil and pulse it in a blender to make the powder. Store this powder in a tighly sealed bottle.
Use only a pinch of this for this recipe.
Preparation:
Soak chana dal for 1/2 hr . Cook chana dal in a pressure cooker separately. Add the soaked chana dal to the cooker with a little salt and a pinch of turmeric and add 1 1/2 cups of water to it. After the first whistle, reduce the flame to the lowest and boil for 3 to 4 minutes. After it cools, check if the dal has been cooked well.
Meanwhile, in a kadai, add oil and heat it. Add 1 bay leaf and the chopped onions to it. Saute it well and then add ginger-garlic and fry until the raw smell goes off. Then add tomatoes. When it becomes mushy, add the chillie powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and mix well. Then in goes the brinjals and stir well. Cover and let it cook for some time. When the veggies r cooked, add the boiled chana dal and the ground coconut paste to the mixture and boil for 2 minutes. Add a pinch of the garam masala powder and stir well and put off the gas. Garnish with coriander leaves.
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