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Yennegai
June 5, 2007 |
A north Karnataka Lingayat specialty made with badanekai (eggplant), usually served with jolada rotti (jowar/sorghum flatbread). See Shilpa’s lunchbox.
This dish is popular in Tamil Nadu as well, where it is called Enna/Yennai Katthirikai. Enna/Yennai stands for ‘oil’, so the name of the dish denotes ‘oil-smeared eggplant’.
The only dish we prepare at home with eggplant/brinjal/aubergine is baba ghanouj . We love this Lebanese dish and are not too fond of eggplants cooked other ways.
We’ve never cooked baby eggplants before, but these sets of twins and triplets in the produce section were too cute to pass up. We brought them home and didn’t have much of an idea what to do with them. We found the Enna Katthirikkai recipe in Chandra Padmanabhan’s Dakshin, and tweaked it just a little. Our addition: crushed peanuts.
This stuffing is knockout delicious. We’ll probably try it with other veggies too.
Does anyone know why these baby eggplants are stuffed and not cut into pieces? We don’t see any value addition to stuffing them whole. Chopping them makes them cook more evenly and faster, and the spices permeate the vegetable better. Like this. Stuffing the eggplants and staring at them as they take their own sweet time to cook is a royal waste of time. But then, we’re not called lazy for nothing. 
It took us nearly 30 minutes to get them cooked through on a low flame without burning. Chopping them up would have taken half the time. Baking is the way to go, we think, after stuffing these.
(adapted from Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan)
For 500 gms (about 1 pound) baby eggplants:
Soak a walnut-sized ball of tamarind in 1/4 cup warm water and extract the pulp.
For the Stuffing
1/2 cup dry or fresh grated coconut - dry roast it until brown
Fry in one tsp oil - 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 3/4 tablespoon urad dal, 3/4 tablespoon chana dal, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing), 8 dry red chillies. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
Let it cool and grind it to a fine paste with coconut, some salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric and the tamarind pulp.
Slit the eggplants into quarters without cutting them through entirely. Fill the slits with the stuffing and keep the eggplants aside. Save the leftover stuffing.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy-bottomed wide pan. Add 1 tsp each urad dal and chana dal, after 10 seconds add 1 tsp each cumin and mustard seeds and 1 broken red chilli. When the mustard seeds pop, add 6-8 curry leaves, the stuffed eggplants, salt and 3 tablespoons toasted and coarsely crushed peanuts.
Add about 1/4 cup water and the leftover stuffing, cover and simmer over a low heat until the eggplants are tender. Ours took nearly 30 minutes in a covered pan. Try not to stir too much. Shake the pan to move them around.
We suggest baking the eggplants at 375 F for 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. Baking helps them cook much more evenly without stirring.
Serve hot with rice.
This is our entry for this month’s Jihva for Ingredients hosted by the lovely Sangeeta of Ghar ka Khana.
SUBDIVISION BONDS
You will not need to get a subdivision bonds in order to grow eggplants in the back yard. But you may need to lock your door when you make this recipe, as everyone in town will want to come over and try some!
aubergine, Chandra-Padmanabhan, Coconut, Dakshin, Eggplant/Brinjal, ennai-kathirikkai, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes, yennai-kathirikkai, yennegai
Very nice photograph and could see the yennai on top of the tiny brinjals which are in perfect shape even after cooking Bee. Enjoy your post always. Viji
because, dear Bee, patience is a good virtue.
…and would they look so pretty if you chopped them up into a regular bhaji?
Bee,
I think the reason for keeping it whole is the stem, its so delicious ,it get a little tender and juicy as it cooks, I love chewing the stem.
The baby brinjals taste yummy when put into the mouth whole while trying to separate the caps. Or just may be to replicate a Non veg experience!
I love this recipe Bharli Vangi Mumbaikar Ho!
we call it gutti vankay, but we also chop them and cook, It takes up a lot of oil for the pieces to be intact, else they become mushy. I think so…
Did you use a scale/ruler to make cuts on them??? The are cut perfectly in the middle and your job after stuffing them is very neat!!!!!
no, we just didn’t photograph the messy ones - there were many of them.
- b.
looks yummy delicious. well to keep the whole masala intact and place between the stalk is very tender and sweet too!
Oh! I had the same recipe in mind.. And, I do agree cutting vegetables work better than stuffing them, if its just for the two of us
Bee, very nice photos as usual. Amazing that you were able to get twins and triplets..:)…We call this Guthi Vankaya in Andhra, which has few other ingredients added. Infact this was my first post. At home all are very fond of this. Thanks for sharing your version.
If you have time do check out how my mom makes it.
what? i too thought of cooking ennegai for JFI
no worries!!! i might go ahead and cook some coz i have got good reason to cook as many brinjal dishes as possible 
i too am not sure why small eggplants are not chopped but used as whole in stuffing. but i prefer stuffed to chopped version coz they are not mushy and u can really bite into them. beautiful pic as usual…
Oh what an amazing photo, especially the first one. Could not take my eyes off it. Baking the stuffed brinjals would be a gr8 idea.Good recipe.
I don’t where my first comment vanished.
Fabulous photos. I liked the first one a lot.Baking is a good idea.Nice recipe.
Looks great Bee!Ennegayi is a K’taka Lingayat classsic but I am not sure it’s from North K’taka though! My grandmother makes this often in the estates(coffee) which is around Coorg.
Anyway,this is my favorite dish to eat with Akki rotti which another classic plantation dish.I have it at FH.
Excellent entry.I think I still have some time for JFI,I am not done with RCI yet!:)
I couldn’t get into your Tendli post somehow for 2 days,will check now.
The first photo is especially fabulous. I thought they were eclairs. That they’re eggplants is so much the better.
Question: Why are very small amounts of dals added during the tempering? I’ve seen this repeatedly in Indian recipes. Is it for flavor? Seems much too little to enhance protein, but perhaps it’s just enough to complete it?
susan, it’s for the crunch factor. - b.
Eggplant ….i would die for them ….Love them ..Nice pics..Baking eggplant ..great
The first photo is fab. Eeven I didn’t think it was eggplants.
wow yummy looking foto… this one looks like bhagara baingan with yur peanut addition….the one baingan dish I always make in my punjabi household is baingan ka bhartha… hmmm i shud make some for JFI…
Bee,
All over Karnataka this dish is prepared, with slight variations in the stuffing. Adding peanut makes it a N.Karnataka Lingayat Specialty. We love this dish at home and I make it almost once a week. I have tweaked the recipe to cook it quicker. I mix peanut butter, rasam/sambhar powder, xtra red chilli powder, dried coconut powder/flakes, dried curry leaves powder, tamarind paste, jaggery, salt and peanut oil. Lastely, for the best part, unless you are averse to microwaving, arrange the stuffed eggplants on a large shallow micro-waveable plate, drizzle with a spoon of oil, partially cover and microwave for 6-8 mins (+ or - a few mins depending on the microwave power setting). No excuse to get lazy with this one!
that is brilliant, mekhala. thank you. - b.
I forgot to mention, I have to admit, slow roasting on the stove top definitely brings out the best flavour out of this dish. But for a quick version, my method above works well too.
glossy brinjals look so niiiiiiiiiiice Bee. it makes me hungry. I make stuffed brinjals in a different way with a bit gravy.. The only thing I dont like making this stuffed brinjal is they take a lot of time to cook.. but after u finish eating u will surely think its worth .
The sensation of biting into a stuffed, un-separated brinjal is totally different. But i agree - it is a tiresome, oily process!
[...] Yennegai [...]
bee, My mom used to make yennegai on special ocations only as it needs a lot of oil and my mom was worried about dads tummy hee hee. We loved it sooo very much. Thanx for the recipe and loved the picture.By the way I did submit my blog to Food Blog Desam. Thanx for your suggestion.
Too bad I can’t reach in there and pick one of ‘em up! Looks absolutely delish. Check out Indira’s version of stuffed baby eggplants too. They are pretty close to this I think.
- Roopa
Hey, That picture of your’s is a big draw. Awesome. More tips on this one! For the stuffing, my mom sometimes adds finely chopped red onion and I sometimes add finely chopped dill instead of curry leaves.
hey looking at the pic I thought it was some chocolate recipe.
the pic looks so good. you are all done for the next JFI. MY MY.
I love that sheen on the eggplants…
Those eggplant plants look delicious.
Hi!
Great recipe..Lovely photos!!And great entry for the event too!!
Oh, not fair not fair, you two! They look too good, and I’ve no time to cook today
Without scrolling down to the second pic, I swore that I was seeing a rich chocolate dessert
wow, bee, everything looks so great here. your pictures and explanations are wonderful
This is really so yummy …..Excellent Pic ..I need to learn some Photo tech class from you ..You are the best ….
[...] we used the stuffing for baby eggplants from Chandra Padmanabhan’s Dakshin. (See that recipe HERE). Our addition: boiled potatoes and crushed peanuts. The peppers used here are of the Anaheim [...]
[...] whole life, I’ve cooked eggplant maybe five or six times, and only as Baba Ghanouj. We made Yennegai once, but while I enjoyed the masala, I didn’t like the chunks of eggplant in [...]
Amazing Ennegai picture! wonder why I hadnt seen this earlier.
[...] Yennegai, from Jugalbandi [...]
Hi, Tried the recipe and liked it a lot. Thank you for some great recipes.
[...] Ripe mangoes 2. Curd rice 3. Chaat 4. Phulka 5. Puran poli 6. Boiled peanuts 7. Samosa 8. Stuffed baby eggplants 9. Aviyal 10. Stuffed paratha 11. Masala chai 12. Tirphal 13. Murukku 14. Curry leaves 15. Banana [...]
[...] Chaat 4. Phulka 5. Puran poli – obbattu/ holige in our language! 6. Boiled peanuts 7. Samosa 8. Stuffed baby eggplants 9. Aviyal 10. Stuffed paratha 11. Masala chai 12. Tirphal 13. Murukku 14. Curry leaves 15. Banana [...]