Chennai

Music has always been an integral part of our lives. I cannot think of a day when music did not accompany the multitude of activities, of the day. Whether it was MS Subbulakshmi or Pankaj Udhas, Elvis Presley or Mohammed Rafi, each one was held sacred for the joy they rendered. That is why when I had to interview Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his beautiful wife Subhalakshmi in Delhi, I jumped at the opportunity of interacting with one of the greatest musicians. My first encounter with Ustadji was when I was attending a function thrown by the late President Venkatraman, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Besides being in awe of the place and all the celebrities present, I was thrilled to share floor space in the same hall with Ustadji. In spite of so many stars and celebrities present, the only autograph I asked for that day, was his. 

Many years later, meeting Ustadji and Subhalakshmi was such great joy and from the day of the interview onwards, they have remained my dear friends. During his concert visit to Bengaluru with his talented sons, Ayaan and Amaan, to play for a fund-raising show, they came home to visit my puja room and eat some traditional vegetarian food. The beautiful part of this great artist and his family was that they followed all religions, respected all faiths and observed the customs according to the function or ceremony they attended.

So I donned my apron and put together a meal, trying to select some real heritage south Indian dishes, especially as the food would be served on plantain leaves. I decided on a combination of dishes from the southern states and set out to create them.

Cabbage thoran, avial, kacchi Hyderabadi vegetable biriyani and Tanjore beans usli were some of the dishes I cooked. They loved the food, but a brinjal dish I’d served was one of their favourites. Ennegayi badnekayi is a famous heritage dish from Belgaum, Karnataka.

There is something about brinjal, you either totally love it, or hate it and that depends on the way it is cooked. It has been cultivated in southern and eastern Asia since prehistory. The first known written record of the plant is found in Qimin Yaoshu, an ancient Chinese agricultural treatise. The numerous Arabic and North African names for it, along with the lack of the ancient Greek and Roman names, indicate it was introduced throughout the Mediterranean area by the Arabs in the early Middle Age.

Ennegayi or stuffed brinjal is a very tasty and extremely popular curry that is mainly served with rice, jowar roti or chapati.

In Kannada, this curry is called ennegayi or thumbida badnekayi. “Enne” translates to oil, “thumbida” translates to stuffed and so combined, form this delicious dish.     

Ingredients 

• Small eggplant/brinjal: 12 to 14
• Shelled groundnut/peanuts: 1/4 cup
• Huchchellu or white sesame seeds: 1 tbsp
• Tamarind extract: 1/4 cup
• Peeled shallots: 1/4 cup 
• Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
• Curry leaves: 1/4 cup
• Coriander leaves: 1/4 cup finely chopped
• Water: 1 cup
• Salt: to taste
• Jaggery: 1 tsp
• Red chillies: 8, roasted and powdered
• Asafoetida: 1/2 tsp
• Jeera/cumin seeds: 1 tsp
• 1-inch piece of chakke/cinnamon: 2
• Coriander seeds: 1/4 cup
• Grated coconut: 3/4 cup
• Sesame oil: 1 cup
• Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
• Khus khus (poppy seeds): 1/2 tbsp

Method:

• Wash and cut the brinjals from the bottom into a plus mark till the stalk
• Place a heavy-bottom kadai on the gas. 
• Dry roast the ellu and peanuts separately. Allow it to cool
• Heat 1/2 tsp of oil, fry cinnamon, red chillies, and jeera. Once the jeera pops, add coriander seeds and shallots and sauté for 1.5 minutes; then turn off the heat.
• Powder the peanuts and sesame seeds and transfer it to a bowl
• Grind the masala ingredients along with coconut adding enough water to make a fine paste.
• Add salt, jaggery, turmeric powder, asafoetida and half the peanut and sesame seed powder to the masala paste.
• Take each brinjal and stuff the masala carefully. Keep a little masala aside. 
• Heat ½ cup oil in the kadai on medium heat. Once hot, add mustard seeds and after it splutters, add brinjals one by one.
• Reduce the heat, cover it and let the brinjals cook in oil. Turn it over when one side is done. 
• Once the eggplants are cooked, add the tamarind extract and water and allow it to boil.
• When it starts to boil add curry leaves, salt and remaining masala paste. Mix it well and let it boil.
• After 4 to 5 minutes, add the remaining peanut and ellu powder. Mix it and let it boil for few seconds. Then, turn off the heat and decorate with coriander leaves and serve with rice or chapati.

Kitchen Tip:

• When you have leftovers a little of everything like dal or sambar or rasam, vegetables, even salad, mix everything together. In a kadai, pour 1 spoon ghee, season it with mustard seeds and jeera. Pour some tamarind extract and your favourite masala powder. Pour the mixed leftover dishes in it. Let it cook on low heat for 15 minutes. A wonderful new dish awaits you! No food goes waste. You can add leftover rice or rotis broken up also.  
• You can add leftover chicken or egg curry but not any seafood.

— The writer is a chef and author of Festive Offerings to the Gods

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