Eggplant poriyal ( side dish)

When I was growing up I hated eggplant just because it looked odd. Now I have come to appreciate its flavor and taste. ‘ poriyal’ is the Tamil word for roasted or sautéed vegetables. The simple poriyal is just vegetables sautéed with a few spices like turmeric and chilli/ sambar powder and salt. This version is a little more complex and is made with a homemade spice mixture that gives it additional flavor 

Ingredients

Eggplant ( indian eggplant with the tops cut off and cut into eighths)- 2 to 3 cups — soak the eggplant in salted water to prevent it from becoming brown 

Onion - 1 medium cut into strips 

To grind: 

Shredded coconut ( frozen or fresh )- 1 cup 

Dried red chillies- 2 or 3

Coriander powder - 1 to 2 tbsp 

Fennel seeds- 1/2 tbsp

Urad dal ( dehusked black gram)- 1 tbsp

Chana dal ( dehusked split bengal gram)- 1 tbsp

Salt to taste 

Topping 

Pottu kadalai flour (roasted dehusked split chickpeas)- 2-3 tbsp

Roasted peanuts - crushed - 2 tbsp 

Vegetable/canola Oil - 4 to 5 tbsp

Instructions: 

1. Dry roast the ingredients under ‘ to grind’ and grind them in a blender into a paste 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Place a sauce pan on medium heat and add 2 tbsp of oil, add the onion and roast it in the oil. Then add the eggplant slices and roast them as well. Do this until they are both tender ( but not mushy) 
   
   
   
3. Now add some salt and the spice mixture to the eggplant and fold it in to make the eggplant is coated at the same time making sure not to crush the eggplant. 
   
4. Let it cool for about 5-7 minutes until the eggplant is roasted well and the spice mixture is drier. Now add the pottukadalai flour and the crushed peanuts and dip them in to coat the eggplant . This gives it a crunch. Let it roast for 2-3 minutes.
   
   
   
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