Gutti Vankaya Kura

Ingredients:

Brinjals - 6 or 7
Coconut - 1 cup grated (or 1 tbl spoon)
Onions - 2
Thick Tamarind extract - 1 tbl spn.
Sambhar Powder - 4 to 5 tsp
Bengal gram dhal - 1 tsp
Garlic - 3 flakes
Salt - as required
Oil



Preparation:

Select tender even sized brinjals and remove the stem.  Cut each brinjal into 4 halfway through from bottom so that brinjal remains whole.  Keep them immersed in water.  Cut onion into fine square pieces.  Grind coconut, garlic, salt and sambhar powder together into a paste.  Mix this paste with tamarind water and keep side.

Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds and bengal gram dhal and fry till the dhal turns light brownish and remove from fire.  Add this to the ground paste along with the onions.  Mix it well and stuff this into the brinjals.

Heat oil in kadai (at least 2 tbl spoons) and arrange brinjals in it in such a way that the stuffed portion faces upwards.  If there is any masala remaining, add it on top of the brinjals.  Add about half cup of water and close with a lid.

Keep the flame reduced so that the masala doesn't stick to the bottom.  Keep stirring in between and check if the brinjals have become soft and the water is absorbed completely as this is a dry curry.  Remove from fire and serve.

This is one of Andhra's special dishes and it is taken with plain hot rice with ghee.