Chop the brinjals and wash them thoroughly and let it soak in water till we add it to the pan. This prevents brinjal from turning black.
If using tamarind, soak a small betel nut sized tamarind in ½ cup of water and extract about ¼ cup of juice. If using tamarind paste, dilute 1 tsp of tamarind paste in ¼ of water.
To the tamarind extract, add the goda masala, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, salt, jaggery and mix well and set this aside.
Dry roast the peanut for a couple of minutes without adding any oil and pulse them roughly.
If using frozen coconut, thaw them to room temperature and if using fresh, grate the required quantity and set aside.
Steps
Heat a kadai or pan and add oil.
Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and hing.
As they start to splutter, drain the water from brinjals and add them.
Add the tamarind spice mixture and mix them all together.
No need to add any additional water.
Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat.
Then remove the lid and cook until all the moisture is evaporated. Make sure you mix the brinjals for every two minutes.
Once the moisture is all gone, add the crushed peanuts and coconut.
Mix them well and cook for another 2 minutes.
That's it. Turn off the heat and yummy vangiyachi bhaji is ready. In my next post, I will share how I prepared the thali and served the curry.
Notes
Adjust the spices as per your preference. If you cannot source goda masala, try replacing it with garam masala but the taste differs completely.
Mixing the dry masalas in tamarind extract is not mandatory. It just makes the process easier and also ensures all the masalas are mixed well. You can add them one by one.
Coconut and peanuts quantities can differ as per your preference.
Brinjals gets cooked faster. Make sure you cook over medium heat and also do not cover and cook for more than 5 minutes. The brinjals will become soft and they lose their shape.