Regulars readers of this blog know that Brinjals (aka aubergines or eggplant) are amongst my favourite vegetables. Amongst the various types of brinjals, I hold baby brinjals dear. Yesterday, in the market, I not only found fresh baby brinjals but also loads of fresh coriander. They were just calling out to me to make Vankaya Kothimeera Kharam.
This dish was a particular favourite of my late mother. So I dedicate this post to her.
I had first posted this recipe for Vankaya Kothimeera Kharam in July 2014 and am now updating it with step-by-step instructions and photos.
Do also try my recipes for Baigun Bhaja | Bengali Fried Brinjal Slices, Dahiwale Achari Baingan, and Vankaya Menthi Kharam.
Recipe for Vankaya Kothimeera Kharam | Brinjal Stir-fry Spiced with a Coriander-Green Chilli-Ginger Paste
Vankaya Kothimeera Kharam | Andhra Brinjal Stir-fry with a Spicy Coriander Masala
This is the recipe for Vankaya Kothimeera Kharam, a traditional Andhra brinjal stir-fry flavoured with a spicy coriander, green chilli and ginger paste.
Ingredients
- 400 gms Baby Brinjals (õr thing, long purple brinjals)
- 1 Cup Fresh Coriander (~100 gms)
- 3″ Piece Ginger
- 5 to 7 Green Chillies
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 3 tbsp Oil
- A few curry leaves
- Salt to Taste
Instructions
Making the Coriander Paste
- Grind the coriander, ginger and green chillies together with a little water to form a thick paste.
- Set aside. Keep the paste covered or the colour changes from bright green to dark green.
Prepping the Brinjals
- To a large vessel, add about 1 litre of water.
- Cut the stems off the baby brinjals, and cut each brinjal vertically into 4 pieces. When using the long purple brinjal, cut each into 2? long pieces about 1/2? wide.
- Drop the cut brinjal pieces into water to prevent them from blackening due to oxidation.
Making Vankaya Kothimeera Kharam
- In a large kadhai or wok, over medium flame, heat the oil.
- Add mustard seeds and wait till they splutter.
- Add the curry leaves and stir-fry for a few seconds.
- Drain all the water from the brinjals and add the brinjal pieces to the oil.
- Add salt and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
- Cover and let the brinjal pieces cook for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the cover and stir-fry the brinjal pieces till they brown at the edges.
- Add turmeric and mix well.
- Turn off the heat.
- Immediately add the coriander-green chilli-ginger paste and mix well with a gentle hand.
- Serve Vankaya Kothimeera Kharam hot with steamed rice.
How to Make Vankaya Kothimeera Kharam | Andhra Brinjal Stir-fry with Coriander-Green Chilli-Ginger Paste
- Making the Coriander-Green Chilli-Ginger Paste (Kothimeera Kharam)
- Add the coriander, ginger and green chillies together with a little water to the chutney grinder.
- Grind to a smooth, thick paste.
- Keep the Kothimeera Kharam covered in the chutney jar. If you keep it in the open, the colour of the paste changes from bright green to dark green.
- Add the coriander, ginger and green chillies together with a little water to the chutney grinder.
- Prepping the Brinjals
- To a large vessel, add about 1 litre of water.
- Cut the stems off the baby brinjals, and cut each brinjal vertically into 4 pieces. When using the long purple brinjal, cut each into 2″ long pieces about 1/2″ wide.
- Drop the cut brinjal pieces into water to prevent them from blackening due to oxidation.
- Making Vankaya Kothimeera Kharam
- In a large kadhai or wok, over medium flame, heat the oil.
- Add mustard seeds and wait till they splutter.
- Add cumin seeds and stir-fry for a few seconds.
- Drain all the water from the brinjals.
- Add the brinjal pieces and some salt to the oil.
- Stir-fry for 5 minutes.
- Cover and let the brinjal pieces cook for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the cover and stir-fry the brinjal pieces till they brown at the edges.
- Add turmeric and mix well.
- Turn off the heat.
- Immediately add the coriander-green chilli-ginger paste.
- Mix well with a gentle hand.
- Cover and set aside for 10 minutes so that the flavour of the Kothimeera Kharam gets into the brinjal.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
Tips
- Be sure to drain all the water from the brinjal, otherwise you will have a mushy vegetable on your hands.
- You could also cut the brinjal pieces and keep adding them to the oil. If you do this (as I do), then keep mixing every time you add new pieces of brinjal.
- To test if the brinjal pieces are cooked, try to cut through them with the ladle. If the ladle goes through, the pieces are cooked.
- You can get the pieces to cook faster, if you cover the wok with a plate and add some water to the top of the plate.
This is such a good and easy recipe. No seasoning more than salt turmeric fresh ginger fresh chili and cilantro. Awesome. Will try for sure.
looks so mouthwatering!Love the green masala!
Yummmm . I love brinjals and your recipe sounds sooo easy to make 🙂
awesome combination, and so simple too!
I really like brinjal dishes. Last year, when I was on my Indian culinary journey, one of the dishes I tried making from Andhra cuisine was Vankaya Kothimeera Vepudu. This is lovely!
Brinjal gravy looks yummy.. Never tried tis..happy to learn new recipe
Wow….. It looks so yummy and different!!!
Loving the green color ! Looks and sounds amazing !
Simple but flavourful, eh? Must try. Interesting about the plate with water on it, as a cooking aid. Must try that too! Thanks Aruna! 🙂
The “plate with water” is common trick for most poriyals as well. I guess the condensation helps speed up the cooking. All I know is that it reduces the amount of oil I have to use. 🙂
Mouthwatering. Maybe I’ll make this today to bring it to my daughter she loved Eggplant as well and is crazy about eating veggies. Very similar to the ringan methi nu shaak except this is corriander instead of Methi and since have both in the house, I can make ti. Thank you…..see you around.
pratibha
Let me know how it turns out. Do you have “ringan methi nu shaak” on your blog?
Yes I do. It si under Methi ringan nu shaak (gujrati)
came out really nice. Thanks. see you around.
Hi Aruna nice recipe you can also post your recipes on http://www.plattershare.com
It’s a complete food networking where you can gain more visibility n traffic on your blog.
Thank you so much for the tip!
Love anything with aubergines!!
Me too!
Very yummy! I am going to try this out soon!
That sounds so tasty! Love baby aubergine…
wonderful. this recipe is new to me, will try it this weekend.
I made this today Aruna and it was pretty good!
Thank you so much for the feedback, Aneela.
Yummy .. I make it too. But I have to put less chillies as hubby dear can’t eat spicy food.
It is, by far, the brinjal sabzi I like the most. 🙂
Aruna, the green masala looks so tempting and a refreshing change from the usual podi or onion tomato gravy. I can imagine the flavours! No wonder the recipe is your Amma’s favourite. Lovely dedication.
So mouth watering, i so wish to eat it right now. Thanks for surfacing this recipe 🙂 It looks so palatable.
Thank you.
Hello! Can we use the green brinjals for this recipe?
Yes you can. Color will change but not much else