Andhra style brinjal chutney is a popular condiment eaten with rice & ghee. It can also be served with roti or dosa.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Side
  • Cuisine: Andhra

Ingredients

  • 4 brinjals (, small. (about 1 ¼ cup of pieces))
  • 3 to 4 green chilies ((slit, adjust to taste))
  • 1 large tomato (chopped (little more than ½ cup))
  • ½ teaspoon cumin (for grinding)
  • ¾ to 1 teaspoon tamarind paste (or lemon juice (adjust to taste))
  • 1 to 2 garlic cloves ((adjust to taste))
  • 1 pinch turmeric
  • ⅓ teaspoon salt ((adjust to taste))
  • 1 sprig coriander leaves (chopped finely)
  • 1 pinch mustard
  • 1 pinch cumin (for seasoning)
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 1 Pinch urad dal ((skinned black gram) (optional))
  • 1 dried red chili (broken)
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 pinch hing (asafoetida (optional))

Method

Preparation

  1. Pour 1½ cups water to a bowl and add ¼ teaspoon salt to it. Rinse and chop brinjals to 1 inch cubes. Keep them immersed until used.
  2. Heat a heavy bottom pan with 1 tablespoon oil.
  3. Add the slit green chilies & fry for 1 to 2 mins until they blister. Remove them to a plate and set aside. Remove them to the plate.
  4. To the same pan, add brinjal pieces, sprinkle salt and fry till for 2 to 3 mins.
  5. Cover and cook them until tender. Remove them to the plate.
  6. To the same pan, add tomatoes and turmeric. Fry till fully mushy and almost dry. Then add cumin. Do not cover and cook as this doesn't give a good taste to the brinjal chutney.
  7. Cool all of these.

How to make brinjal chutney

  1. Add green chilies and all the other ingredients along with tamarind or lemon juice to a onion chopper or blender.
  2. Run the machine to make a coarse chutney. Taste the chutney and add more salt and tamarind or lemon juice.

Tempering

  1. Heat another small pan with 1 tsp oil.
  2. Add mustard, cumin, red chili and dals. When the dals turn golden, add curry leaves and pinch of hing (optional).
  3. Off the heat and add the chutney to this. Mix well and garnish brinjal chutney with chopped coriander leaves.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.