I still remember the smell of fresh tiragamata (talimpu) of a pachadi being made at home. The potent vapors that the dried red chili release when being shallow fried in oil giving you the sneezes is one of the best memories of my childhood. We never have food without having a pickle. When I came to the US here a pickle was something entirely different and I was so confused. Our meal isn’t complete without a pickle and I loved to help my mom in making them. For a long time (before we had a mixer), my mom would make rottu pachadi, that means she made the pickle in a mortar. When she made in that the taste of every single ingredient was enhanced somehow.

When my mom came to visit me for my delivery, she would make them too. Well, she mainly made it because my dad came to visit us too and he couldn’t eat without a pickle by the side. So we got accustomed to that and when she left she made a huge batch of gongura and pallamirapakayala pachadi. So we were good for a few weeks and then we stopped eating rice so much. But then this week, I have been really homesick, so I decided to make some mom style pachadi. I love any pachadi that my mom makes, but I love her vankaya pachadi the most. But I didn’t have enough brinjals to make it, so instead, I added some coriander. Kothimeera or Coriander can enhance the smell and flavor of the dish much more, so I added a lot of it. Obviously, you can totally skip the coriander in this recipe and add more brinjals to the recipe or even tomatoes. So here’s the recipe for Vankaya Kothimeera Pachadi.

Ingredients

Oil – 1 teaspoon

Brinjal – 3 (tall ones)

Coriander – 2 bunches

Tamarind – marble sized (washed)

Salt – as required

Turmeric – 1/4 teaspoon

Water – 1/4 cup (or more if required)

Tempering:

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Urad dal – 2 teaspoons

Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

Asafoetida – 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Fenugreek Seeds – 3 or 4 (do not add more or the entire pachadi becomes bitter)

Dried Red Chili – 8

How to Make

Step 1: Chop the brinjal before making the pachadi and leave them in water until cooking. Take a pan, once heated add oil and urad dal, mustard seeds and asafoetida, as the mustard seeds start spluttering add the cumin seeds(I was out of cumin so I didn’t add them in the picture here), fenugreek, and the dried red chilies and fry them until the red chilies are bright red. Take them out and put them in the mixer jar.

Step 2: In the same pan add oil, chopped brinjal, and salt. If you do not add salt at the starting the brinjal gets brown, so remember to add salt at the starting itself. Add tamarind, water and one bunch of coriander.

Step 3: Add turmeric and give it a mix. Keep mixing until all the water evaporates and the brinjals become mushy. Let it cool down.

Step 4: Add the remaining bunch of coriander to the mixer jar and pulse it until it’s a smooth paste. DO NOT ADD WATER. To this add the cooled brinjal and pulse. Keep mixing it with a spoon if it gets stuck but do not add water. Add more salt if required before transferring it into a bowl.

Step 5: Serve it with rice.

Tips:

1. You can completely eliminate the coriander and do it completely with Brinjal.
2. You can completely eliminate the coriander and instead add 3 medium sized tomatoes to the brinjal while cooking.
3. You can substitute Brinjal with tomatoes, ridge gourd (beerakaya), mint and completely coriander too.

Po