brinjal and cucumber chutney

Brinjal and cucumber chutney is one of the popular chutney prepared in Andhra region.  Brinjal is popularly known as the eggplant and cucumber the lemon cucumber that gives a tangy taste and crispness to the fresh chutney. This chutney is commonly called as Vankaaya Dosakaya pachadi in telugu language in Andhra Pradesh.

This fresh chutney is best served with hot rice or even rotis. This chutney is so famous and found in every Andhra house hold. Its flavor comes from that nice purple brinjals and yellow cucumber. To choose the perfect lemon cucumber take the ones that are firm and hard to touch and not soft. Dosakaya / budamakaya in telugu and lemon cucumber or lemon cuke in English is part of the cucumber family similar in taste except for being very firm and sour in taste. The dosakaya or lemon cucumber could also be eaten raw after peeling off their skin and removing the seeds. They look like small round or oval shaped yellow skin with green scales or vice versa and usually very firm to touch.

A variety of dishes can be made out of dosakaya likes the Dosakaya talimpu, dosakaya pachadi, dosakaya ooragaaya, dosakaya pappu, dosakaya pulusu, dosakaya sambar and dosakya perugu pachadi. Lemon cucumber is a versatile vegetable that is sweet and sour, flavorful, and doesn’t have much of the chemical that makes other cucumbers bitter and hard to digest. Though it’s often served raw, it’s also a good pickling cucumber.

Eggplant has found its way into many cultural dishes and cuisines because of its versatility in cooking and ability to take on the flavor of whatever else it is cooked with. Although eggplant is not a rich source of any vitamin or mineral, it can be a colorful and flavorful low calorie addition to many dishes. One cup of cooked eggplant is only 38 calories. Eggplants are best cooked and can be stuffed, fried, sautéed, stir fried, roasted whole, baked or grilled to intensify the nutty eggplant flavor. Slice eggplant and bake or fry, then top with tomatoes, cheese, spices, and mushrooms. Add eggplant to meat, rice, or cheese dishes. Substitute eggplant for the pasta in lasagna. For drying, eggplant can be peeled, sliced, blanched four minutes and dehydrated until leathery to brittle. On reconstituting, eggplant may darken, and the flavor may be stronger than fresh, but still good tasting. Eggplant is not recommended for canning; it is better pickled.

The brinjal and cucumber chutney is an all time favorite in most of the houses in Andhra and is a very delicious combination. It tastes like mango pickle! Sometimes cucumber can be bitter coz the cucumber seeds are bitter or it might be cucumber (it’s muscle) itself is bitter. In the later case, we can’t do this chutney. This is usually done when cucumber seeds are bitter or cucumber is not at all bitter.

The brinjal and cucumber chutney is simple and easy to prepare. To make this delicious lip smacking chutney, firstly clean and cut brinjals into small pieces. Cut the lemon cucumber too into small pieces and keep aside (check the taste of the flesh and it can taste bitter sometimes. If they are bitter than discard them immediately). Heat oil in pan and sauté green chillies, garlic, tamarind well then add the brinjal pieces and fry until brinjal changes its color and becomes soft. In a blender add this mixture and grind them coarsely. Add the cut cucumber pieces and just blend. The cucumber pieces should not get mashed and should be crisp while eating. In a mixing bowl, add the coarsely ground chutney. Now temper the brinjal and cucumber mixture. Add oil in the pan and mustard, cumin seeds, dried red chillies, channa dal, urad dal, fresh curry leaves and hing and mix it into the brinjal and cucumber chutney. Lastly add salt and freshly chopped coriander leaves and mix well. The chutney is ready.

The chutney is an aromatic dish soft, crispy and tastes delicious. Do try this and spice your life with fresh chutneys every day. Hence do check the making of this brinjal and cucumber chutney at:

http://www.vahrehvah.com/brinjal+and+cucumber+chutney:5866

brinjal and cucumber chutney
	4.0 Stars based on 322 Reviews Author : Admin Published On : Apr 17, 2009 Preparation Time: 7 min Recipe Type : Dipping/Pickles Cooking Time : 25 min Standing Time : 5-8 mins Yield : 4 (4 servings) Ingredient : Brinjals Description : this is a very popular chutney in Andhra Pradesh made from brinjals and dosakai(cucumber)