Black-Eyed Peas & Brinjal Kuzhambu | Kongu Nadu Special
A Kongu Nadu special protein-rich, spicy and tangy gravy prepared with black-eyed peas and brinjals and with fresh coconut masala.
Servings: 6
Calories: 179kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup Black Eyed Peas
- 5 cups Water divided, for soaked
- ⅛ tsp Gingelly oil or Edible Castor Oil
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1 cup Chopped Onion chopped
- 4 Tender Brinjals
- 2 tbsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tbsp Red Chili Powder to taste
- 1.5 tbsp Tamarind or small lemon size
- 2.5 tsp Salt to taste
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- 10 Curry leaves
For Tempering
- 2 tbsp Oil You can add upto 3 tbsp
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 inch Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
- ¼ tsp Hing
- 2 Red Chilies
For Grinding
- ½ cup Coconut grated
- 1 tbsp Fennel Seeds
Instructions
Prep Work
- Soak the black-eyed peas for at least 5 hours and pressure cook the black-eyed peas with two garlic cloves and two drops of gingelly oil or castor oil for three whistles.
- Once it's cooled down, reserve one-half of the cooked black-eyed peas and do not discard the water.
- Pulse the remaining half coarsely and set aside.
- Chop the onions, brinjals.
- Grind the coconut and fennel seeds by adding about ¼ cup of water.
- If using tamarind, soak it in water and squeeze about 1 cup of tamarind juice. If using paste, mix the paste in 1 cup of water and set aside.
Steps
- Heat the pan/kadai/vaanali and add oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, hing and cinnamon.
- As they start to splutter, add the broken red chilly pieces and curry leaves.
- Fry them for a minute and add chopped onions.
- Cook until the onions turn translucent.
- Now add the chopped brinjals and let it cook for about 4 to 5 minutes until it is semi-soft.
- Add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilly powder and salt. Mix well.
- Now add the tamarind water and let it simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes.
- As it starts to boil, add the cooked black-eyed peas and the ground peas. Mix them well.
- Add water according to your consistency preference.
- Check for salt and spice at this stage and bring this to boil.
- Once it starts to boil, add the ground coconut mixture and bring it to one boil again and turn off the heat.
- That’s it. Yummy brinjal black-eyed peas kuzhambu is ready.
Notes
- Adjust the salt and spices according to your preference.
- Instead of chopping the brinjals into pieces, you can slit them as we do for ennai katharikai.
- Coriander powder and red chilly powder can be substituted with 2.5 to 3 tbsps of sambar powder.
- I love black-eyed peas, so I went with 1 full cup. You can reduce the black-eyed peas to ½ cup also.
- A drop of castor oil is used while cooking the black-eyed peas. But I went with gingelly oil. If you can find edible castor oil, you can opt for that.
Nutrition
Calories: 179kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1013mg | Potassium: 650mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 683IU | Vitamin C: 65mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 3mg