Fresh Red Beans and White Brinjal (Eggplant) Curry

Ever since I found these Fresh Red Beans in the store one summer I am hooked and the taste is much fresher than the dried kind and ofcourse the gaseous properties are completely absent. I also found these amazingingly cute button sized White Brinjal and the two indeed make a good combo. The white brinjals can be substituted with regular purple small size brinjals.





Ingredients:
1. Fresh Red Beans 1 1/2 cups (dry Red Kidney Beans)
2. White Brinjals about 20 (slit in half, not cutting them completely)
3. 1 Red Onion (3/4 onion roughly chopped) 1/4 diced fine
4. 6 garlic pods
5. 1 ripe tomato diced
5. 1/2 inch ginger
6. 1 1/2 tbsp masala powder (the ingredients below)
7. 1/4 tamarind juice (soak tamarind in water and squeeze the pulp out) or 1 tsp of tamarind paste
8. seasoning - mustard, cumin, fenugreek curry leaves
9. corriander leaves

Masala Powder:
1. 1/4 tsp cumin
2. 1 tsp corrinader seeds
3. 4-5 red chillies
4. 1 tsp pepper
5. 1 cardamom

Dry roast the above and powder. Coffee Grinder comes in very handy for making these powders.

Method:
1. In a pan heat oil, saute onion till it turns brown, add the garlic and ginger and saute for a few minutes, add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they turn soft.
2. Blend the above mixture to a paste.
3. In the pan heat a little bit of oil and the seasonings, cumin, fenugreek, curry leaves and mustard.
4. Add the onions and saute till they turn brown. Add the masala powder mix well.
5. Now add the brinjal and saute for a few minutes.
6. Add the Red beans mix well, saute for a few minutes add salt.
7. Now add the tamarind juice and when it starts to boil, add the ground mixture and mix.
8. Cover the lid and cook till the beans are cooked and soft.
9. Sprinkle the corriander leaves.


The curry goes very well with rice or chappathis.