Brinjal Fry | Vankaya Fry

This South Indian style Brinjal fry is one of my mom's most delicious recipes. It is made by simply stir-frying onions and brinjal with a simple spicy mix that gives a unique taste. It is such a quick, simple yet extremely delicious recipe. Brinjal fry is also called Vankaya fry or Vankaya Vepudu or eggplant fry.

This recipe only needs very few and easily available ingredients. It makes a heavenly meal when you serve it with steaming hot rice, ghee, and papad.

There are many different ways to make Vankaya fry in South India alone. Every household has its own recipe. This recipe is my mom's, I don't know where she learned it but she has been making it for ages and it is one of my favorite recipes any given day.

Feel free to use the button at the top of the page to go to the recipe directly or the table of contents below to go to any section of the page you want. The recipe card has all the information that is needed to make the recipe perfectly. However, I try to provide as much useful information in the post for the readers who are looking for it.

What is Brinjal fry

Brinjal is nothing but eggplant. It is also called by many different names like Vankaya, aubergine, etc.. in India. Brinjal is the widely used term in India whereas eggplant is the term used mostly in the United States.

Brinjal fry or Vankaya curry is simply Indian style stir-fried eggplant with onions and a simple spicy mix.

How to Make

Let's see how to make this Brinjal fry or vankaya vepudu in detail with step-by-step pictures.

Preparation

• Start with slicing the onion into thin 2 inch long slices.
• Make a paste of ginger, green chilli and cilantro using very little water if required. The paste should be thick and slightly coarse. You can even use the mortar and pestle to make this paste. If you are using mortar and pestle, then make ginger, green chilli and cilantro into small pieces before you crush them to make it easy.
• Slice the brinjal( also called vankaya or eggplant) into thin 2 inch long pieces. You can use any kind of vankaya or eggplant for this vankaya curry. I used long purple brinjal.

How to make Brinjal fry

• Heat oil in a frypan on medium heat and add the tempering ingredients in the same order given. Saute the tempering for few seconds to a minute until you get a nice aroma. Curry leaves splatter a lot so take care to stand one step away when you are adding them.
• Next, add sliced onions with a little salt to help onions cook faster. Saute the onions until they are translucent.
• Next, add brinjal pieces along with salt and saute them uncovered until they are 75% cooked while stirring in between.

• Now add the ground paste to the brinjal fry in the last 5 minutes and mix well.
• Cook until the brinjal absorbs all the ginger and green chilli flavours and is completely well fried but not mashed.
• Garnish with cilantro, switch off the heat and serve hot with papad and steaming hot rice.

Tips for making best Brinjal fry

• Brinjal turns bitter and brown if you cut it and leave it for some time. So make sure to chop it right before you add it to the pan while the onions are sauteing or chop it and leave the pieces in the saltwater until you are ready to add them to the pan.
• Add salt along with brinjal pieces to avoid a bitter taste.
• You can use any kind of brinjal (eggplant) for this brinjal fry but make sure to use a fresh brinjal because they go bad pretty fast and dish wont taste as good when made with not fresh ones.
• Also make sure to use fresh ginger for best taste and not the old and fibrous one.
• Cut the thick stems of cilantro before you make the paste

Storing and Reheating

This usually never lasts for more than one meal in our home ☺. But if there are any leftovers to store then you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. Just reheat in a microwave or on the stovetop when you are ready to eat.

Serving Ideas

We usually serve it steaming hot rice, ghee, and papad in our home with plain yogurt on the side. But you can also serve it with other grains like Quinoa, cracked wheat, millets, or brown rice instead of white rice.

Recipe

Brinjal Fry | Vankaya Fry

Yamini

A simple, spicy, quick and delicious way to make South Indian style brinjal fry with a special spicy mix. Serve hot with rice, ghee, and papad for a heavenly meal.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 3

Ingredients

  

• 2 long purple brinjal or eggplant cut into 2 inch long pieces
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 cup Onion slices thinly sliced
• Salt to taste
• Cilantro for garnish

For tempering

• 1.5 teaspoon split urad dal
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp asafoetida optional, also called hing or inguva, skip if you are on a gluten-free diet
• A sprig of curry leaves

Make a paste of 

• 3 green chili peppers increase or reduce the amount based on your spice level
• 0.5 oz ginger peeled medium thumb size
• A handful of cilantro remove hard stems

Instructions

 

Preparation for Brinjal fry

• Thinly slice the onion into thin 2 inch long slices.
• Make a paste of the ginger, green chilli and cilantro (cut the thick stems) using a blender and few drops of water if required. It should be a very thick and slightly coarse paste. You can use a mortar and pestle too instead of a blender.
• Slice the brinjal( also called vankaya or eggplant) into thin 2-inch long pieces. Note: Brinjal turns bitter and brown if you cut it and leave it for some time. So make sure to chop it right before you add it to the pan while the onions are sauteing or chop it and leave the pieces in the saltwater until you are ready to add them to the pan.

How to make Brinjal fry (Vankaya fry)

• Heat oil in a frypan on medium heat and add the tempering ingredients in the same order given. Saute the tempering for few seconds to a minute until you get a nice aroma.
• Next, add sliced onions with a little salt to help onions cook faster. Saute the onions until they are translucent.
• Next, add brinjal pieces along with salt and saute them uncovered until they are 75% cooked while stirring in between. Note: Adding salt along with brinjal pieces helps avoid a bitter taste.
• Now add the ground paste to the brinjal fry in the last 5 minutes and mix well. Cook until the brinjal absorbs all the ginger and green chilli flavours and is completely well fried but not mashed.
• Garnish with cilantro, switch off the heat and serve hot with papad and ghee over steaming hot rice with plain yogurt on the side. You can also serve it with other grains like Quinoa, cracked wheat, millets, or brown rice instead of white rice.

Notes

• You can use any kind of brinjal or eggplant for this. I used long purple brinjal.
• Curry leaves splatter a lot so take care to stand one step away when you are adding them.
• Use fresh ginger for best taste and not the old and fibrous one.

Keyword Brinjal fry, Vankaya curry, Vankaya fry, Vankaya recipe, Vankaya vepudu

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