Brinjal Chutney Recipe | South Indian Chutney Recipe | Recipe with Eggplant

Indian curry recipes are always renowned for its rich flavour of spices. In most of the other cuisines, it is believed that too much players can spoil the game. But for Indian curries, the story is completely different. Indians are masters in cleverly using spices for perfect flavours.

I am always fond of south Indian chutneys and Brinjal chutney recipe is one my favourites. I tasted this salivating chutney for the first time when I was in Bengaluru. One day, one of my colleagues brought some plain Dosa and this Brinjal chutney for lunch. She offered me some and I just loved it. The combination of south Indian spices and smokey Brinjal makes the dish outstanding. I got the traditional recipe from her and now Brinjal Chutney is a super hit in our family.

Brinjal is called by many names in different parts of the world. In the UK, it is known as Aubergine. In the US, it is known as Eggplants and in few other parts, it is known as Brinjals. It is one of the most versatile vegetables that I have ever seen. It can be grilled, roasted, boiled, baked and even fried to prepare salivating recipes.

Brinjal recipe plays a vital role in Vegan food dishes. Hundreds of world cuisines are prepared with this purple vegetable. But Indian spices always create magic with this vegetable and Brinjal chutney recipe is a perfect example of it.

Brinjal chutney recipe with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. Before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about Brinjal and the recipe.

Benefits of Aubergine

How to select perfect Brinjal for Brinjal Chutney?

The hero of this dish is undoubtedly Brinjal. Half of the taste of this recipe depends on the size, texture and quality of brinjal. Dark coloured big/medium sized fleshy brinjals with lesser seeds are perfect for Baingan Ki Chutney. Try to avoid extra-large ones because it may contain more seeds.

How to roast Brinjals or Aubergines perfectly?

For best results, before putting the Brinjals on flame or barbeque, wash it properly and pat dry. Pierce their bodies with the help of a fork and apply some oil on them.

To prepare Baingan Ki Chutney it is very important to roast the Brinjals properly with lots of patience. It is roasted on open flame of gas stove till the skin chars and it has become tender from inside. Aubergines should always be roasted in medium flame. Because sometimes if it is roasted in high flame, it may remain uncooked from inside. Brinjals with stems should be used for roasting. The stem helps you to hold the Aubergine properly and ensure that it is roasted properly from all sides.

If you have doubt whether the Brinjals are properly roasted or not, you can test it with the Fork-Test.

Immediate peeling off the skin of roasted Brinjals are quite risky. Because they are piping hot from inside. So, always allow them to cool down before starting to peel off. Peeling the char skin of roasted Brinjals is a real messy task. So, I always use gloves for this job. After peeling the skin, I always wash the Aubergines in water to completely remove the rest of the small char skin which gets stuck on their body.

How to make homemade masala for Brinjal Chutney?

One more important part of Brinjal Chutney recipe is to prepare the masala of the chutney for perfect flavouring. In this preparation, I have used whole spices like Sesame seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Carom seeds, dry red Chilli and Urad dal. First, I have dry roasted all the ingredients in medium low flame for some time until a soothing aroma started to come up of the spices. I have allowed the mixture to rest to become cool. Then I have ground them to a fine powder. Many people prefer to grind the masala coarsely but personally, I always recommend everyone to make a fine powder of the spices.

How to make Brinjal Chutney?

For a perfect Brinjal Chutney, Brinjals must be cooked on open flame. You can also get the beautiful Smokey aroma by barbequing them.

The secret behind the popularity of this dish is its unique taste and Smokey flavour which you will never get by any shortcut. Neither microwaved nor oven baked Aubergines can give you the authentic flavour. I have tried the both ways. I won’t say that it has come up disastrous but is quite different both in taste and flavours.

To prepare a perfect Brinjal Chutney recipe, it is very important to roast the brinjal perfectly and secondly to prepare a homemade fresh spice.

For the south Indian chutney recipe, I have roasted the brinjals and prepare homemade masala first. Then I have ground the roasted Brinjals with homemade masala, Coriander leaves, grated Coconut and Garlic cloves to a smooth paste.

I have used Tamarind pulp in the preparation. It gives a nice tangy touch to the chutney. To balance the tangy taste of the dish, I have added some grated Jaggery too.

Then I have tempered the paste with classic south Indian spices – Mustard seeds, Asafoetida and Curry leaves. Other than these, I have added Salt, Turmeric powder and Chilli powder into the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 dry red Chillies
• ½ teaspoon Carom seeds (Ajwain)
• ½ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds (Methi)
• ½ teaspoon Sesame seeds (Til)
• 1 teaspoon Urad Dal

• 2 Brinjals with stem
• 2 cloves of Garlic
• 3-4 tablespoons Cilantro
• 4 tablespoons grated Coconut
• 1 teaspoon Tamarind pulp
• 1 tablespoon grated Jaggery
• ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 10-12 Curry leaves
• ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing)
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• Oil for cooking

For roasting the Brinjal
1. Wash the Brinjals properly and pat it dry with the help of a clean cloth or kitchen towel.
2. Pierce the body of Brinjals with the help of a fork and apply some oil on it.
   

3. Put one of the Brinjals on the open flame of gas stove and roast it in medium flame till the skin chars and it has become tender from inside.
   

4. Roast each of them for around 10 minutes.
5. Turn it in every 2 minutes to roast evenly. With the help of the stem, turn them properly.
6. Go for a fork test to check whether the Brinjal is done or not. If the fork goes inside the Brinjal smoothly, then it is done and if not, then roast it for another couple of minutes and repeat the test again.
7. Keep the Brinjals aside.
   

   Tips: Immediate peeling off the skin of the roasted Brinjals are quite risky because they are piping hot from inside. Always allow them to cool down before starting to peel off.

   For peeling the skin of Brinjals
   

8. Peel off the skin very gently with soft hands otherwise the flesh will come out with the skin.
   

9. After peeling off the skin, wash the Brinjals in water to get rid of rest of the small char skins which gets stuck on their body.
10. Keep them on a plate and cut their stems out.
    

    Tips: Peeling the char skin of roasted Brinjals is a real messy task. So, I always prefer to use gloves for this job.

    For making the Homemade Spice
    

11. Put a pan on flame and let it become dry.
12. Add Urad dal and dry roast it in medium flame for a minute.
    

13. Add Carom seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Sesame seeds, dry red Chilli into the pan.
    

14. Dry roast them in medium low flame for 3-4 minutes until the Urad dal becomes pink and the spices start releasing a nice aroma.
    

15. Transfer the spices on a plate and allow it to rest until it cools down.

16. Transfer the roasted spice into a jar of grinder and grind them till fine dust. Keep the spice mixture aside.
    
    

    For making the Brinjal Chutney
    

17. Add the roasted brinjals (Step 10) into the grind spice jar of grinder.
    

18. Add Garlic cloves, Coriander leaves, grated Coconut into the jar.
    

19. Grind all the ingredients together until it becomes a smooth paste.
    

20. Add Tamarind pulp into the mixture and mix it well.
    

21. Put a pan on flame and add oil into it.

22. Once the Oil is hot, add Mustard seeds, Curry leaves and let them crackle.
    

23. Add some Asafoetida and give a quick mix. Cook it for few seconds.
    

24. Put the flame in low and pour the paste (Step 16) into the pan.
    

25. Cook it in medium high flame for 2 -3 minutes. Stir in between.
26. Add Salt, Turmeric powder, Chilli powder and mix it well.
    

27. Add some grated Jaggery and mix it nicely.
    

28. Put the flame in medium and cook it for another minute.
    

29. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.