fast brinjal vepudu

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Vankaya Vepudu – Eggplant Stir fry

A family favorite especially during festive meals. Eggplants aka Vankaya hold a special place in a typical Andhra meals especially on festive days or wedding feasts. For Ugadi our lunch spread would have been incomplete without this subtle sweet-flavored stir fry. Simple to prepare, the key to this recipe is a blend of ginger-garlic-fresh coconut which imparts a nice aroma and flavor.

Vankaaya Vepudu Recipe

Prep & Cooking: 30 mts

Serves: 3-4

Cuisine: Andhra

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Ingredients:

1/4 kg purple brinjals, cut into quarters

1 large onion chopped

big pinch turmeric pwd

1 tsp coriander pwd

1/4 tsp cumin pwd

1 tsp red chilli pwd

1 1/2 tbsps oil

salt to taste

For seasoning/poppu/tadka:

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

10-12 curry leaves

Make a paste:

6-7 garlic cloves

small ginger piece

1 1/4 tbsps grated fresh coconut

1 Heat oil in a cooking vessel, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Add the curry leaves and onions and saute for 3 mts.
2 Add the quartered brinjals and stir fry them for 5-6 mts without lid. Stir fry in between to ensure they don’t burn or stick to the pan. Add the ground ginger-garlic-coconut paste and combine well. Add salt and turmeric pwd. Saute without lid for 4-5 mts till the rawness of the paste disappears. Add coriander pwd, cumin pwd and red chilli pwd and combine.
4 Place lid and reduce flame and cook till the brinjals have cooked completely and turned soft. Turn off heat. The stir fry will appear almost like a gooey mass (mudda kura).
5 Adjust salt and serve with hot rice.