Brinjal & Cucumber Chutney

Ingredients:

Brinjal – 250 gms.

Cucumber (the type which is almost round and sour) – 250 gms.

Green chillies – 6 nos. (a few more if you want the chutney to be more spicy)

Cumin seeds – 2 tsp.

Mustard seeds – 2 tsp.

Black gram (without skin and split) – 2 tsp.

Curry leaves – a few

Garlic pods – 8 nos.

Tamarind – lime size.

Oil – 3.5 tbsp.

Salt – to taste

Method:

Clean and cut brinjal into roughly 1 cm. cubes and leave them in water.

Check whether cucumber is bitter. Discard if it is bitter and use another which is sour. Cut the cucumber into half sm. cubes. Make sure you retain the juice from the cucumber while removing some of the seeds.

Chop green chillies into 1 cm. long pieces. Clean and soak tamarind in half a cup of water.

Heat 1 tbsp. oil into a frying pan, and when it is hot, add cumin, mustard, garlic, black gram, a curry leaves, to it. Wait until they start spluttering and light brown in colour.

Take the pan off the stove. Once cooled, remove the spices from the pan and put in the chutney jar. Add salt to it and grind to a fine powder. Add soaked tamarind and grind to a paste.

Add another tbsp. of oil to the pan, and put it back on the stove. When the oil is hot, put the chopped brinjal pieces. Cover the pan and let it cook until brinjal is almost done. Remove from stove. When cooled, add the brinjal to the mixer or ground paste, and grind the whole mixture to a coarse paste. Check for salt and adjust.

Now add finely chopped cucumber to the mixer and turn the knob just once, in other words, makes sure the cucumber is not become paste.

Heat the remaining 2 tbsp. of oil in the pan, add the balance cumin, mustard (1 tsp. each), garlic, black gram and curry leaves. When they are nicely browned, pour over the chutney.

Tastes excellent with hot rice and ghee.