Vankaya mamsam/Eggplant mutton/ Brinjal Meat curry

This simple dish is made with one of my favorite veggies- eggplant aka brinjal aka vankaya. There's lot of myths surrounding this veggie and I thought it's important to clarify. Click here to know the calorific and nutritional value of eggplant.

Ingredients:

Brinjals - 5 medium sized

Meat/Mutton - 2 lbs

Salt- 2 tspn

Meat tenderizer - 1/2 tspn

Turmeric - 1/4 tspn

Onions - 2 medium size

Oil- 1 1/2 tbsp

Green chillies - 3-5

Coriander powder - 2 tspn

Cumin powder- 1/2 tspn

Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves all powdered in equal ratio - 2 tspn

Chilli powder - 3 tspn

Tomatoes - 2 medium sized

Cilantro - 1/4 cup

Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tspn

Water- 1-1 1/2 cup

Preparation time: 10 mins cooking time: 40 mins

Slice the onions and fry them in oil in a pan. Saute them until they turn slightly brown and then add green chillies. Now add turmeric, salt and then ginger garlic paste. Thoroughly saute them without letting the paste stick to the base of the pan. Add the powders in the order mentioned above and saute again. Now add mutton/meat pieces and sprinkle some tenderizer powder and close the lid. Let the entire moisture come out of the mutton pieces. It might take about 10 mins for the water to drain out of the pieces. Then add diced tomatoes and diced eggplant pieces along with cilantro and then thoroughly mix. Let the tomatoes go soft and tender showing signs of the skin getting peeled off. Now, add water to the entire contents depending on how much of gravy you'd like to have in the curry. Remember, water is directly proportional to the amount of gravy you get later on. Close the lid and pressure cook the meat upto 4-5 whistles or 20 mins if you're following by the clock.

Once cooked, remove the lid as the steam settles down and serve hot with rice, paratha or rotis. Don't forget to garnish it slightly with cilantro and lemon. It definitely adds to the taste. Uhmm! lip smacking :)`