Konda Kadalai Kathirikka Kozhambu - Chickpeas and Eggplant in a coconut sauce

Its evening. Time to make dinner. I open the fridge to check what I have. Based on that sometimes I decide on something that I have already made before. There are days when I do not feel like doing that. I want to make something new. Then I come back to the laptop and search for ideas. Then back to fridge to recheck ingredients. Finally I may find a new dish to make or may end up with something already cooked.

Time spent on searching, thinking, searching, thinking again : 45 minutes
Time taken to actually make something : 30 minutes

Does this happen in any of your houses?

As a solution to this problem, I experimented making a menu before I shop for the week. Time required to make the menu for the week 1 hour. Everyday I can quickly make a dish and be done with it..

I kept doing that for a few weeks. Then stopped and slipped to my old ways. This week I restarted it. While finalizing the menu, I found Sangeetha's Recipe. I really liked it and gave it a shot. Made a few minor changes. Please do refer to her original recipe as well.

It was out of the world. We are it with Rice today. It will make an excellent combo for dosa and roti as well.



Ingredients

Chick Peas 1 cup
Onions 2
Tomatoes 2
Eggplant 1 big
Green Chilli 1
Bay Leaf 2
Clove 3
Cinnamon 1 inch piece
Saunf 1 tsp
Jeera 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp
Chilli Powder 1 tsp
Sambar Powder 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp

To grind

Poppy seeds (soaked in water) 1 tsp
Saunf 1 tsp
Coconut 1/2 cup
Garlic 5 pods
Ginger 1 inch piece

Method of Preparation

1. Soak Chickpeas and pressure cook with enough water till it is cooked.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add the bay leaf, cinnamon, clove, saunf and jeera.

3. When it sizzles, add the sliced onions. Saute till it starts to brown.

4. Add chopped tomatoes and eggplant.

5. Add a little water and cook till it is partly cooked.

6. Make a paste of the ingredients under 'to grind'.

7. Add the paste to the pot. Add chilli powder, cumin powder, turmeric and sambar powder. Add some salt as well.

8. Add the cooked chick peas and some water. Simmer till it all comes together and the raw smell of all the masalas are gone.

Serve with rice, roti or dosa

It thickened a lot after a few hours and tasted even better the next day... yumm yummmm

Linking this to Lets Cook - Protein Rich Food Event by Radhika
Linking this to Magic Mingle - coconut and fenugreek seeds