Smoky Eggplant Chutney; spicy and flavorful relish with fire-roasted eggplant/baingan in a lovely Indian spice-infused masala! Scoop up some with rotis, idlis, dosas or use as a spread in sandwiches.
Udupi cuisine (from Karnataka in south India) is known worldwide for its vegetarian cuisine; case in point idlis, masala dosa, Neer dosa (rice crepe), Goli Baje/Mangalore Bonda (deep-fried flour dumplings) etc. served with sambar and plethora of chutnies!
One special vegetable you get there is a variety of baingan/eggplant called matti gulla from the village of Matti in Udupi. In our Konkani cuisine, we jump up with joy when we come across this in the local market. The flavor of this variety is unique and it has a distinct lovely flavor which I think no other variety of eggplant could match.
So, when I came across this at my local grocer, after making pan fried-fritters (coated with rice flour and red chilli powder), I proceeded to make a lovely chutney mostly relished in another Indian state, Andhra Pradesh something similar to what I make sometime, but with coconut: Baingan Bhartha south Indian style!
The key step in this Andhra special chutney is roasting the eggplant over fire on medium heat until charred all over and cooked through. Peel, shred into small pieces and blend along with roasted spices and tamarind.
A tempering of mustard and curry leaves added to this and you have a mouthwatering chutney to enjoy as a side dish with any meal.
Not fond of the smoky flavor? Then roast diced eggplant in some oil and then proceed with making the chutney. Add some tomatoes or even garlic for a variation of flavors.
Any which way you make it, you will love it! It is spicy, smoky and flavorful with aromatic Indian spices and comes together in no time!
How to make Smoky Eggplant Chutney/Gojju:
Apply oil to the washed and dried eggplant/baingan/aubergine and roast directly over fire on medium heat, turning often to sear and cook evenly.
Once cooked, place the hot smoked eggplant in a bowl and cover; keep aside to cool.
When cool, peel it (this can be done easily with moist fingers by dipping them in cold water), shred and keep aside.
In a small saucepan, heat oil and once hot, add the following: green chillies, jeera, dals, tamarind (if using fresh tamarind) and curry leaves. Saute and fry on medium low heat for a few minutes.
Remove and transfer to a small blender jar. Add some jaggery (and tamarind paste if using) and blend to a coarse paste without adding water.
To this mixture, add the roasted and shredded baingan/eggplant, salt to taste and blend to a puree.
Remove and place in a serving bowl. Meanwhile, prepare the tempering.
Heat oil in a small saucepan and once hot add mustard seeds. As soon as the seeds pop and crackle, add curry leaves and hing and pour this tempering over the eggplant chutney.
Mix well and serve at room temperature with rice and any dal, rajma or sambar.
Tastes great as a dip for dosas or idlis too !!
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A spicy and flavorful relish or chutney with fire-roasted eggplant/baingan in a lovely Indian spice-infused masala
Ingredients
- 1 large green baingan (eggplant/aubergine) or any other eggplant
- 2 green chillies/jalapenos
- 1 small marble-sized piece of tamarind/1/2 tsp tamarind paste
- 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
- ½ tsp urad dal
- ½ tsp chutney dal
- Few curry leaves
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 to 2 tsp jaggery/unrefined cane sugar (or according to taste)
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp hing/asafetida powder
- Few curry leaves
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Apply oil to the washed and dried eggplant/baingan/augergine and roast directly over fire on medium heat, turning often to sear and cook evenly.
- Once cooked, place the hot smoked eggplant in a bowl and cover; keep aside to cool.
- When cool, peel it (this can be done easily with moist fingers by dipping them in cold water) and keep aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat oil and once hot, add the following: green chillies, jeera, dals, tamarind (if using fresh tamarind) and curry leaves. Saute and fry on medium low heat for a few minutes.
- Remove and transfer to a small blender jar. Add some jaggery (and tamarind paste if using) and blend to a coarse paste without adding water.
- To this mixture, add the roasted and shredded baingan/eggplant, salt to taste and blend to a puree.
- Remove and place in a serving bowl. Meanwhile, prepare the tempering.
- Heat oil in a small saucepan and once hot add mustard seeds. As soon as the seeds pop and crackle, add curry leaves and hing and pour this tempering over the eggplant chutney.
- Mix well and serve at room temperature with rice and any dal, rajma or sambar.
- Tastes great as a dip for dosas or idlis too ?
- Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
Notes
If you like garlic, you can fry garlic along with other spices before making chutney.
Finely chopped sauted or caramelized onions gives a lovely sweet texture to the chutney; feel free to add those.
Add some roasted peanuts while blending for a nutty flavor.
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