Vankaya Pachi Pulusu

Also known eggplant stew.

No Andhra cuisine is complete without eggplant. One can think of cooking eggplant in a variety of flavors and spices. One such dish is pachi pulusu, literally meaning raw stew, which has been made for more than 100 years in the region of Andhra Pradesh. The only cooking in this dish happens with the grilling of the eggplant. The rest of the ingredients are added raw!

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Serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants

• 2 tsp tamarind paste

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 3-4 green chili, minced

• 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

• a sprig of curry leaves

• 2 tbsp grated jaggery

• 1 tsp channa daal (bengal gram)

• 1 tsp urad daal (split black gram)

• 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)

• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

• 2 dried red chili

• pinch of asafetida

• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

• salt to taste

• 1 tbsp oil

Method:

1. Grill the eggplants until skin is charred and pulp is cooked inside. Save the juice from eggplants, if any, to give a smoky flavor to the dish.

2. Mix tamarind paste in 1/2 cup water along with jaggery powder, salt, turmeric, and green chili. Leave it aside for 30 minutes. Tamarind and jaggery can be added according to one's taste.

3. Add mashed pulp of eggplants into the above mixture. Temper rest of the ingredients in hot oil and pour into the mixture. Mix well.

4. Mashing the pulp with clean hands is ideal and gives unique texture to the stew.

5. Let the stew marinate for another 30-45 minutes before serving with hot rice.