Vankaya Chikkudu Ginjala Kura/ Eggplant Lilva Curry

Vankaya Chikkudu Ginjala Kura

Ingredients:

Onion - 1 m.no. (Chopped finely)

Eggplant/ Vankaya - 1 no. (large fat Eggplant, diced and keep in warm water)

Chikkudu ginjalu/ Lilva - 1 cup or little less

*Chintakayalu / Raw Tamarind - 5 no. (whole)

Wash them properly. add lots of water in a small pan and boil the Chintakayalu until skin is removed easily and cooked, switch off. Remove Chintakayalu from water and keep the water seperately until needed. Now remove skin of the Chintakayalu and remove seed too by smashing lightly and removing it. Gather the pulp and keep aside.

*Green Chillies - 13 - 15 no.

Smashed in pestle, into smooth.

Oil - 2 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Seasoning:

Oil - 4 tbsp, Garlic - 1 bulb (remove each flake and smashed lightly), Urad Dal - 2 tsp, Curry leaves - 1 sprig and Red Chillies - 4 no.(slit them in half)

Proceed:

1) Heat a deep flat non-stick pan, add oil heat it up. Add onions and fry until light golden colour.

2) Add chikkudu ginjalu and fry for 1 min.

3) Add eggplant pieces and fry for 3 min.

4) Add 1 cup of water from reserved liquid, mix well. Cover and cook until eggplant are mushy and ginjalu are cooked, stirring in between. Cook until all the water evaporated (you can use more water if it is not cooked).

5) Add salt and turmeric.

6) Add chintakaya paste and green chilli paste and cook for 5 mins. Remove everything in a plate.

7) Do seasoning: in the same dish by heating first, add oil, once heated. Add urad dal and red chillies fry until lightly brown add garlic and curry leaves fry until light golden color.

8) Now add the above paste and mix well to combine. Check for salt and tartness and switchoff.

Serve with Plain white Rice, Ghee and Rasam on side.

Notes:

It will be easier if you keep everything ready before u start cooking.

© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu

Rasmalai

Rasmalai

Ingredients:

Full Cream Milk -1 lt (+3tbsp ) + 1 lt
Cardamom - 6 + 3 no. (husk removed and powder each seperately)
Yellow colour - few drops (or one can use saffron too)
Sugar - 3/4th cup sugar + 4 tbsp (divide this in to two parts)

Eggs - 2 no.(beaten till just blended)
Rose essence - 1/4 tsp

Whole milk powder - 100 g
Baking powder - 1 tsp

Pistachios - 1 handful (thinly sliced)

Proceed:

1) Heat 2 large flat non-stick pans simultaneously. Add 1ltr + 3tbsp milk in one non-stick pan and the other with 1ltre milk. Bring milk to boil on medium high both, stirring occasionally. Add cardamom 6no (powdered) in 1ltr + 3tbsp milk container and other with 3no (powdered) in 1litre milk and sugar in both. Stir in both till sugar is dissolved. Add yellow colour in both (to your desired colour consistency). Reduce both heat to medium and boil till milk is thickened slightly, stirring occasionally (about 10 mins) .

2) Mix eggs and essence.

3) In a seperate bowl, mix milk powder and baking powder. add eggs.essence mixture. mix. step 4 must follow immediately in (1 ltr + 3 tbsp milk).

{keep stirring the other milk pan too}

4) Quickly drop batter, 1 tsp at a time, into milk boiling inthe pan. To drop batter: scoop batter with 1tsp and push with the back of another tsp into boiling milk.

{keep stirring the other milk pan too}

5) Gently push dumplings breifly into milk with back of a perforated spoon. Boil for 2mins. remove from heat.

{keep stirring the other milk pan too and cook further 5 mins and switch off. allow it to cool and refrigerate.}

6) Sprinkle pistachios.

7) Allow to cool to room temperature, refrigerate and serve cool.


Notes:

1) Why cooking milk in two different pots, because when rasmalai are refrigerated it seeping away the milk, leaving behind only dumplings. To compensate with that we are cooking milks seperately. You can refrigerate both sepeartely, next day add plain milk to the rasmalai and serve.

2) Instead of rose essence one can use rose water, in that case add 3 tsp in egg mixture and 4 tspns of rose water in 1 litre milk. Do this way and you won't feel eggy smell in them.

© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu