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Both the provenance of this aubergine recipe and the aubergine itself have something in common: they share a serpentine history of origin and lineage. Let me get the recipe out of the way first: this is a mashup of my mother’s recipe for podi kathirikkai (aubergine with a powdered spice mix) which she got from her mother, and my neighbour’s recipe for Maharashtrian shengdana chutney, which is a peanut and chilli-garlic spice mix that is singularly addictive. 

The aubergine meanwhile, that which we call brinjal in India, is a nomad borrowing its name from French, which itself borrows from the Catalan alberenjena where the prefix ‘al-’ points to an Arabic influence. The Arabic word for aubergine is al-badhinjan, a loan from the Persian badenjan or bademjan, which supposedly borrows from the Sanskrit vatin-gana, which in turn traces the provenance to the Dravidian family of languages, Tamil and Malayalam. All of this preamble to say that borrowing and lending in recipes and food are more in common than one thinks: more often than not dishes undergo many changes and adaptations like the aubergine, and it is unfathomable why people tend to dislike the fruit so much when there are many inventive ways to cook it. This is my favourite way: cooked on a high heat with enough oil to render them creamy and unctuous, spiced with a rubble of coconut-sesame-peanut mix, and paired with a sharp tomato dal. 

There are other origin stories and plenty of (bizarre) names: saying ‘aubergine’ feels elegant on my tongue but the brinjal feels more natural. You can call it what you want, but you have to cook it with deep affection, a bit of reverence and a lot more oil than necessary for the aubergine is a time travelling fruit with a fascinating geography and quality.

Aubergine and coconut, pre-prep.


Serves 4

Ingredients
300-350g rice, washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes

For the dal
4 tablespoons oil+ghee 
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds 
1 sprig curry leaves (or 4 dried curry leaves)
3 small red onions or shallots, finely chopped
3-inch piece ginger and 6 garlic cloves, crushed into a coarse paste
2 green chillies, slit down the middle
3-4 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped finely or blended into a puree
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
2-3 teaspoons red chilli powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 teaspoon sugar 
175g red lentils + 25g toor dal, soaked for 30 minutes (or 200g of red lentils)
salt to taste
a handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
2 lemons, sliced into quarters

For the aubergines
6-7 tablespoons of oil
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon urad dal
1 sprig curry leaves
750g small, long aubergines or 3 large aubergines, cut into long or small chunks (or if in season, use courgettes)
salt to taste

For the spice mix
1 tablespoon white sesame
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 Kashmiri chillies
4 round chillies
½ tablespoon Chana dal (you can use masoor dal here)
1 stick cinnamon 
½ teaspoon cumin seeds 
1 tablespoon peanuts (unsalted and roasted)
2 tablespoon grated coconut (dry desiccated coconut is fine here)



Method

This is a time-consuming recipe in that it has definitive steps for cooking the dal and aubergines, but it is straightforward and easy.

First make the spice mix. Dry roast all the ingredients together except the coconut in a wok or frying pan over medium high heat. Keep stirring till the sesame seeds have reached a golden brown and immediately take off the heat. Transfer the ingredients to a large plate and cool. In the same wok/pan, toast the coconut till it’s golden brown. If using fresh coconut, when it first hits the hot pan you’ll hear a gentle sizzle. The more you fry and stir, you’ll see that the coconut shrinks and its water evaporates. Dry desiccated coconut might be faster to brown because it has already lost all its moisture. Once golden brown and addictively fragrant, set aside with the rest of the spice mix ingredients.

The spice mix in the wok.


Next, make the rice as per your usual method. Check to see if the spice mix ingredients have cooled down. Toss them into a food processor and pulse in intervals. Because there’s sesame, coconut, and peanuts – ingredients that tend to release oil – you’ll have to pulse instead of blend. Grind to a coarse powder; some of the peanut mixture will stick to the sides of your food processor. Set aside and store whatever is leftover inside the refrigerator.

Make the aubergines next. In a wok set over medium high heat, add the oil that has been set aside for the aubergines. Once it’s hot, add the mustard seeds and wait till it sputters. Maybe stand away from it or place a lid on top to avoid being hit by it. When a few seeds start sputtering, add the urad dal and stir. Then add the curry leaves and stand away. Add the aubergines and stir so the oil is spread throughout. If you are using an iron pan or wok (or nonstick), add a tablespoon of salt, mix, and cover with a lid. If it’s stainless steel, add the salt, sprinkle some water on top, mix and cover with a lid. Check on this from time to time so that the aubergines don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Aubergines in the pan, coated with the spice mix.


For the dal, place a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the oil and the mustard seeds. Once it sputters, add the cumin seeds and stir. You’ll see them agitate after a few seconds. Add the curry leaves and stir again. Now toss in the onions, a pinch of salt, and stir. Keep stirring the onions till golden brown and deglaze the pan with water whenever necessary. Add the tomato, turmeric, sugar, chilli powder, and cumin powder and stir. Once the tomato mixture changes colour and loses water, add the drained dal, and 550ml of water. Let the dal come to a boil over high heat and then reduce to medium. Cover and simmer the lentils till they’re soft, about 20-30 minutes. 

While the dal is cooking, check on the aubergines. If the flesh has turned from a purple to a dull green-black and wrinkled, and the aubergines are fork tender, sprinkle most of the spice mix on top and gently stir so all the aubergines are coated in it. Taste and check for salt and chilli. If you have very little spice mix left, sprinkle it all in and mix. Switch off the stove.

Once the dal is cooked, whisk until smooth, check for salt and adjust as necessary, and garnish with fresh coriander. The dal has to be runny but not watery. Serve with dal spooned on top of rice and the aubergines on the side, along with wedges of lemon for the dal.




Apoorva Sripathi is a writer and editor from Chennai, and the co-founder of the independent magazine CHEESE. She also writes shelf offering, a food and culture newsletter. You can find all her work at apoorvasripathi.com. Photography by Apoorva Sripathi.

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