A delicious brinjal gothsu/gravy with freshly roasted and ground spices that perfectly pairs with idli, dosa, and ven pongal! Learn how to make this Chidambaram brinjal gothsu without onions with detailed step-wise pictures.
You don’t need to always make chutney and sambar for your idli, dosa, and other tiffin items. South Indian cuisine has much more to offer, and I have shared assorted chutneys and other gravies like gojju and chickpea flour gravy for idli and dosa. Now it’s time for another exciting gravy, and it’s the Chidambaram brinjal gothsu.
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Chidambaram gothsu
Chidambaram is a famous town in Tamil Nadu known for the Lord Natarajar (Shiva) temple. And this gothsu, (can be spelled as kothsu, gotsu. Some call it as gojju too) is quite popular there. . Gothsu is a simple curry or gravy with roasted and mashed brinjal and with freshly ground spices. Kathirikai is the Tamil word for brinjal, hence the name Chidambaram kathirikai gothsu.
They serve this gothsu in the temple along with cumin-pepper rice. (I have the cumin-pepper rice with millets, and if interested, do check it out. ) I have been to Chidambaram and the temple but sadly never relished this dish there. Like every other dish, this gothsu also spread its wings, and now it’s quite popular across Tamil Nadu, and you can find several variations to this recipe.
Our brinjal gothsu version
My mom and I adapted this recipe from a cookbook supplement years ago, and we modified the gothsu podi to our liking, and this is how we have been making it for years now. I won’t call mine the authentic version, but I made this gothsu without any onions like the temple version.
Coming to the gothsu podi, we add a little amount toor dal, cumin, and peppercorns. You might have noticed that I add toor dal while tempering for gojju. The subtle flavor of toor dal adds so much flavor to this dish, and for the gothsu, I included it along with the spice powder. Even though it’s optional, I highly recommend you try that. I am sure you will thank me later. :-)
Brinjal varieties
While they typically use the local brinjal variety for this recipe, I have tried this gothsu with pretty all the varieties available here in the US. After trying all the varieties, I would say the long purple eggplant and the small graffiti variety works best for this recipe.
I have used a long purple variety for today’s recipe, and I broiled it in my oven and mashed it. Also, I used a small amount of the big eggplant variety chopped fr the gravy. I add both mashed and cut brinjals for this gothsu as we love the bite of brinjals. You can skip the cut brinjals and make this gravy only with mashed brinjal.
How to serve the gothsu
This gothsu is more like kootu/thick gravy, and we love it with ven pongal or savory pongal and arisi upma more than with idli and dosai. If you are serving this with idli and dosai, you can adjust the consistency accordingly.
You can serve this gothsu with idli, dosa, ven pongal, upma, arisi upma, etc.
Dietary Specifications
This gothsu is a vegan and nut-free dish. You can skip the asafoetida or use gluten-free asafoetida to make it gluten-free as well.
How to make brinjal gothsu
Broil the long purple eggplant
- Line a cookie tray or cake pan with aluminum foil. Apply the 1 tbsp of oil over the eggplant and place it in the tray. Broil in the oven on high mode for 40 to 45 minutes, flipping it once in the middle.
- When the broiling is complete, remove it from the oven and let it cool.
- When the eggplant is easy to handle, remove the skin. It easily comes off. Remove the flesh and mash it thoroughly, and set aside.
Prepare the gothsu podi
- In a pan or kadai (I used my soapstone vessel), add the ingredients given under “for the gothsu spice powder” – coriander seeds, chana dal, toor dal, cumin seeds, whole pepper, and dried red chilies.
- Roast until the lentils change to light golden brown and turn off the heat. Let it cool.
- Then transfer it to a mixer jar and grind it coarsely without adding any water.
Prepare the gothsu
- Heat the same or kadai (I used my soapstone vessel) and add one tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, asafoetida, fenugreek seeds, and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds splutter and the dal turn light brown.
- Now add the cherry tomatoes and the chopped brinjal.
- Mix well and add the salt and turmeric powder.
- Add 1.5 cups of water cook until the brinjals turn soft and tender.
- When the brinjals turn soft and tender, mix 1 tsp of tamarind paste with 1 cup of water and add it to the gothsu and let it simmer.
- When it simmers, add the gothsu podi and mix well.
- Let the gravy simmer again for 3 to 4 minutes, and then add the broiled and mashed eggplant. Mash the gravy again. The brinjal pieces should be soft and chunky.
- Mix it well. And bring it to one boil. Check for the consistency and if required, add ½ more cup of water. If you are adding water, let it simmer for a few more minutes. If not, add some cilantro and turn off the heat.
- Drizzle the gingelly oil on top and serve it with venpongal or idli.
Recipe Notes:
- Eggplant – As mentioned in the post, typically, they use the local-variety of eggplants for this recipe. I went with what I had in hand. Also, along with mashed brinjal, I added cut brinjal as we love the bite of brinjals.
- Tomatoes – I used my homegrown cherry tomatoes. You can use one small tomato. Depending on the tomato sourness, adjust the tamarind paste.
- As always, adjust the salt and spices as per your preference.
- The toor dal, whole pepper, and cumin seeds in the spice powder add a nice flavor, and I highly recommend giving it a try with that.
More eggplant/brinjal recipes
P.S.: If you try this brinjal gothsu, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it A.S.A.P. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates! You can also sign-up for my newsletter for weekly updates.
📖 Recipe
Brinjal Gothsu | Brinjal Gravy | Chidambaram Kathirikai Gothsu
Equipment
- Saucepan or kadai
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1 tbsp=15ml; 1tsp=5ml;
To broil:
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 long purple eggplant approx 300 grams, refer notes
For the gothsu spice powder:
- 1.5 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp chana dal
- 1 tsp toor dal
- 1 tsp whole pepper
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 dried red chilies
For the gravy
- 1 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp urad dal
- ½ tsp chana dal
- ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
- ⅛ tsp asafoetida
- 10 curry leaves
- 2 cherry tomatoes or 1 small tomato
- 150 grams brinjals chopped. You can use the purple eggplant or small brinjals
- 1.75 tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- 2.5 to 3 cups water
- 1 tbsp jaggery optional
- ½ tbsp gingelly oil optional
- 1 tbsp cilantro chopped
Instructions
Broil the long purple eggplant
- Line a cookie tray or cake pan with aluminum foil. Apply the 1 tbsp of oil over the eggplant and place it in the tray. Broil in the oven on high mode for 40 to 45 minutes, flipping it once in the middle. When the broiling is complete, remove it from the oven and let it cool. When the eggplant is easy to handle, remove the skin. It easily comes off. Remove the flesh and mash it thoroughly, and set aside.
Prepare the gothsu podi
- In a pan or kadai (I used my soapstone vessel), add the ingredients given under "for the gothsu spice powder" – coriander seeds, chana dal, toor dal, cumin seeds, whole pepper, and dried red chilies. Roast until the lentils change to light golden brown and turn off the heat. Let it cool. Then transfer it to a mixer jar and grind it coarsely without adding any water.
Prepare the gothsu
- Heat the same or kadai (I used my soapstone vessel) and add one tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, asafoetida, fenugreek seeds, and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds splutter and the dal turn light brown. Now add the cherry tomatoes and the chopped brinjal. Mix well and add the salt and turmeric powder. Add 1.5 cups of water cook until the brinjals turn soft and tender.
- When the brinjals turn soft and tender, mix 1 tsp of tamarind paste with 1 cup of water and add it to the gothsu and let it simmer. When it simmers, add the gothsu podi and mix well.
- Let the gravy simmer again for 3 to 4 minutes, and then add the broiled and mashed eggplant. Mash the gravy again. The brinjal pieces should be soft and chunky. Mix it well. And bring it to one boil. Check for the consistency and if required, add ½ more cup of water. If you are adding water, let it simmer for a few more minutes. If not, add some cilantro and turn off the heat.
- Drizzle the gingelly oil on top and serve it with venpongal or idli.
Notes
- Eggplant – As mentioned in the post, typically, they use the local-variety of eggplants for this recipe. I went with what I had in hand. Also, along with mashed brinjal, I added cut brinjal as we love the bite of brinjals.
- Tomatoes – I used my homegrown cherry tomatoes. You can use one small tomato. Depending on the tomato sourness, adjust the tamarind paste.
- As always, adjust the salt and spices as per your preference.
- The toor dal, whole pepper, and cumin seeds in the spice powder add a nice flavor, and I highly recommend giving it a try with that.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Thank you Srividhya for the recipe,tried this today with ven pongal and liked it very much
Thank you so much.
Awesome recipe
Thanks much.