Here is a wonderfully delicious southern poriyal. (For more on the subject, see the note.) This is a dry stir-fry, so it does not have a sauce. It is eaten with rather flowing dishes, such as a sambar (see South Indian Dal with Vegetables), rice, and yogurt relishes. You can also serve it with flatbreads and a mixture of northern and southern dishes, such as potatoes with cumin and asafetida, a dal, and a simple yogurt relish. Add stir-fried spinach, Andhra-style, if you have company.
In India, slim green eggplants are often used for this dish, but those are hard to find in the West. Small purple ones or the lighter pinkish Japanese eggplants work very well too.
SERVES 3–4
• 1 lb. smallish purple eggplants (I used 3 “baby” Italian eggplants, but the long Japanese variety is also fine)
• 1 tablespoon chana dal
• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
• 2–5 dried hot red chilies
• 3 tablespoons olive or peanut oil
• ½ teaspoon whole brown mustard seeds
• 7–8 fresh curry leaves, lightly crushed in your hand
• 1 medium onion (about 6 oz), peeled and chopped
• ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
1. Cut off the very top of each eggplant. Whatever kind you have, cut them into 1 × ¾ inch dice. (I quarter the baby Italian ones lengthwise, then cut them crosswise into ¾ inch pieces.) Put the cut pieces into a bowl of water until you are ready to start cooking. At that point, drain well and pat dry.
2. Place a small cast-iron frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chana dal, coriander seeds, and red chilies, stirring and roasting them until they turn a few shades darker. Empty the mixture onto a piece of paper towel and set aside. When cool, place in a clean coffee grinder or spice mill and grind as finely as possible.
3. Pour the oil into a medium, preferably nonstick frying pan set over medium-high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds. As soon as they start to pop, in a matter of seconds, throw the curry leaves into the frying pan (take care, as these will splutter). Quickly follow with the onions. Stir for about 2 minutes, then lower the heat to medium and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
4. Now add the eggplant, which you have drained and dried, and stir for a minute. Add the salt and the ground spice mixture. Stir to mix. Sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons of water, stir, and cover. Cook for 6–7 minutes, stirring now and then. Lift the cover, add another similar sprinkling of water, and stir gently. Cover again. Keep doing this—stirring, adding sprinklings of water, and covering again—every 6–7 minutes for 20–25 minutes, until the eggplant is tender, turning the heat down if necessary.
