Brinjal Curry For Chapathi & Rice – Indian Eggplant Curry

Brinjal curry for chapathi, rice, biryani and poori using brinjal (eggplants also known as aubergine), tomatoes and spices is very easy to make and it is very delicious too.

Brinjal curry or this South Indian style Kerala eggplant curry can be made using any kinds of eggplants that you may have, just make sure to use an approximate amount of sliced eggplants as I have mentioned in the recipe.

I have used 2 medium sized eggplants here (not the small round ones) but you may use just one large sized or several small ones depending on the kind of brinjal or eggplant that you have, since there are so many varieties of brinjals available in the market.

You can read more information about brinjals or eggplants here.

Brinjal curry tastes the best when you can lightly fry the brinjal and then its cooked just enough without being mushy.

It is important that the eggplants/brinjals must be cooked completely, since the under cooked brinjals have a slightly rubbery texture which won’t taste good in curries.

At the same time, it is important to make sure that the eggplants/brinjals are not overcooked or mushy as the stage of being cooked to over cooked and being mushy can happen too soon while cooking eggplants.

An exception to this is while preparing dishes like Punjabi style baingan bharta or any curry or dish where the eggplant should be cooked very well and we use the pulp to make the curry, so in those dishes the eggplants or brinjals have to be cooked really well.

But when you prepare brinjal curry where you want to enjoy the slices of brinjals as it is, its important to cook the brinjals just right and not overcooked for the best texture and flavors.

By lightly frying the eggplant slices in little oil in the beginning and then cooking the brinjals just enough along with tomatoes and spices will give you the best eggplant/brinjal curry for chapathi, poori, rice or biryani.

Just make sure the eggplant/brinjal slices are cooked well as the rubbery texture won’t taste very nice in the curry and the awesome combination of brinjals (eggplants), tomatoes and spices can’t go wrong!

So here is how you can easily and quickly make a delicious tomato brinjal curry for chapathi, rice and biryani following this very easy South Indian style tomato brinjal curry recipe.

How To Make Brinjal Curry For Chapathi & Rice?

We need the following ingredients to make this simple, easy & delicious tomato brinjal curry or tomato eggplant curry.

Ingredients to make brinjal curry

2 brinjal (eggplants) medium sized (about 4 cups sliced)

3 large tomatoes use more if tomatoes are small sized

4 cups water

oil as needed to lightly fry the brinjal/eggplant slices

1 tablespoon coconut oil extra

salt adjust to taste

Spices used

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon red chili powder

½ teaspoon cumin seeds powder

2 tablespoon coriander powder use little more if needed

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

2 cloves garlic crushed

2 green chilies sliced

1 string curry leaves

Step By Step Instructions

Wash and slice the brinjals/eggplants as little long and thick slices, and add this sliced eggplants to a large pan.

Add enough oil, garlic, green chilies and salt, mix well and lightly fry the eggplant slices in the oil (you do not need to deep fry the eggplants, just coat with enough oil and lightly stir fry).

Add the water, turmeric powder, cumin seeds powder and red chili powder also to the pan, mix everything well and bring the mixture to a boil.

Once the mixture starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer in low heat for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the eggplants are almost tender.

Meanwhile wash and chop the tomatoes also in slightly thick and long slices, add the tomato slices also to the pan.

Stir everything well, cover and cook in medium heat for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the eggplants are cooked and tender and the tomatoes are also lightly cooked.

Open the pan, add the remaining spices – coriander powder, garam masala powder and black peppercorns, stir well and simmer in low heat for 2 minutes.

Finally add the extra 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and curry leaves, mix well and cook for 1 more minute and the delicious eggplant tomato curry is ready to be served! Enjoy the yummy brinjal/eggplant tomato curry with rice, chapathi or poori as you wish!

Notes: If using large brinjal/eggplant, you may need to use just one eggplant or adjust the amount according to your preference.

If using small sized brinjal/eggplants, you may use about 8 to 10 brinjals.

About 4 to 6 cups of sliced brinjals will be right amount for this recipe.

You may also make a South Indian Kerala style seasoning in the beginning of making the curry or you can make it separately in a different pan and add it to the prepared curry if you wish. 

To make the Kerala style seasoning, heat one tablespoon of coconut oil in a pan, add one teaspoon of brown mustard seeds and when the mustard seeds splutter, add 4 to 5 broken dry red chilies and few fresh curry leaves and fry for a few seconds and the simple and delicious Kerala style seasoning for curry is ready.

If you are preparing this seasoning, you can skip adding the extra coconut oil and curry leaves at the end of the preparation of the curry which is there in the instructions.

While making this brinjal curry, I didn’t soak the eggplants in water in advance to get rid of any bitterness and it turned out fine.

However, if you are concerned about the slight bitterness of the brinjal, you can soak the sliced brinjal in some salt water (maybe mixed with a little turmeric too) for about 15 minutes of time, then clean the slices by gently squeezing the water and seeds out and discard the water used for soaking, which will help with getting rid of any slight bitterness the eggplants may have.

Make sure to remove any water or moisture content from the brinjal slices before adding the oil for your safety.

More South Indian Style Curry Recipes:

easy tomato curry for chapathi

simple onion curry for chapathi & poori

tomato onion curry for chapathi & poori

Kerala style tomato fry for chapathi & poori

spicy tomato fry with gravy Kerala style recipe for chapathi

easy potato curry for chapathi

easy peas potato curry recipe

Below you can get the recipe for brinjal tomato curry in detail.