Baigan masala

Need To Have

• Eggplants/ Brinjals - 12, small, long ones
• Tomatoes - 2, pureed
• Onion - 1 minced
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt - to taste

To Grind

• Peanuts - 1/2 cup
• Coriander Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• White Sesame Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chillies - 8
• Garlic - 5 cloves
• Chopped Ginger - 1 tablespoon

Method

          Toast the peanuts and peel the skin. Dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and sesame seeds and cool. Grind it all together along with the other ingredients given under 'to grind'.

          Slit the eggplants 'crisscross'. Heat some oil, add the eggplants and keep sauteing till they start turning soft, start changing color and almost half cooked, remove and keep.

          In the same pan, add some more oil, add the minced onion and curry leaves and keep sauteing for 2 or 3 minutes, till the onion starts turning golden. Now add the ground paste and keep mixing for at least 5 minutes, till the raw smell goes. Then add the tomato puree and keep cooking for another 3 or 4 minutes.

          To this, now add the eggplants, mix, add about 2 cups of water and salt, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. You'll see the oil oozing from the peanuts and sesame seeds and floating on the top. Switch off at this stage, serve it warm with rice or rotis.

Note
Usually they add tamarind extract, I replaced it with tomato puree.
While toasting the coriander and cumin seeds, add the sesame seeds at the end, and toast on reduced heat, otherwise, it starts splattering everywhere.
Make sure that the gravy is slightly thin when you switch off, it thickens as it cools.