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kathirikkai thokku, brinjal thokku recipe

July 7, 2016 by Suguna Vinodh 40 Comments

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kathirikkai-thokku

My aunt loved brinjals. She would not touch any English veggie. Only country veggies with an occasional carrot. That’s it! During her 60’s she developed an acute skin allergy. After many failed treatments, she went for treatment to an Ayurvedic clinic in Kerala and the treatment helped her keep the allergy in control. But the downside was that she had to give up eating brinjals and some other veggies. She found it really difficult to do that. She does sometime cheat and take an extra does of anti-histamine but that’s OK. Simple pleasures of life as we know it. This is her favorite way of eating brinjals and this recipe is such a winner on the lunch table.

Heat sesame oil (gingely oil) in a pressure pan until hot. Add in the fenugreek seeds (vendhayam), mustard seeds, cardamom and cumin seeds. Add in the sliced onions and fry till the onions are soft. Add in the tomatoes and ginger garlic paste. Fry for a couple of minutes.

kathirikkai-thokku-onion

Add in the red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, jaggery and salt. Add in the garam masala / curry masala powder. I added my home made curry masala powder today. Add in 2 tablespoon of tamarind paste. I use home made tamarind paste which works so well and makes for one chore less everyday. Fry for a minute. Add in the chopped brinjal and half a cup of water.

kathirikkai-thokku-spice

Cover the pressure pan and cook for two whistles. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to release naturally.

kathirikkai-thokku-pressure-cook

Take a pan and transfer the brinjal mixture to the pan. Saute for 5-10 minutes to roast and thicken the thokku. When the thokku is thick and oil starts to separate, remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

kathirikkai-thokku-roast

Serve with rice, idli or chapati.

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kathirikkai-thokku-recipe

kathirikkai thokku, brinjal thokku recipe


★★★★★

4.9 from 10 reviews

  • Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Description

Recipe for spicy Kathirikkai thokku, Tamilnadu style spicy brinjal / eggplant thokku recipe.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 tablespoon sesame oil (gingely oil)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 3 cardamom pods
  • 2 medium sized onions, sliced
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
  • 2 teaspoon red chilli powder
  • 2 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala / curry masala powder.
  • 2 tablespoon tamarind paste
  • 1 tablespoon jaggery
  • 6–7 small brinjal, chopped
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3 sprigs coriander leaves, chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat sesame oil (gingely oil) in a pressure pan until hot. Add in the fenugreek seeds (vendhayam), mustard seeds, cardamom and cumin seeds. Add in the sliced onions and fry till the onions are soft. Add in the tomatoes and ginger garlic paste. Fry for a couple of minutes.
  2. Add in the red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and jaggery. Add in the garam masala / curry masala powder. Add in 2 tablespoon of tamarind paste. Fry for a minute. Add in the chopped brinjal and half a cup of water.
  3. Cover the pressure pan and cook for two whistles on medium flame. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to release naturally.
  4. Take a pan and transfer the brinjal mixture to the pan. Saute for 5-10 minutes to roast and thicken the thokku. When the thokku is thick and oil starts to separate, remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

Notes

Do not add too much fenugreek seeds. The curry will become bitter.

  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Tamilnadu

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kathiri-thokku

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Suguna Vinodh

I'm Suguna Vinodh aka Kannamma. I love south Indian food and I am passionate about baking. My Favorite things include my Wusthof knife, Coffee, Ilayaraja, Tamil and beaches. I love Jacques Pepin and Julia Child.

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Comments

  1. Kalaimani says

    April 19, 2021 at 10:29 am

    Very nice recipe

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      April 19, 2021 at 4:44 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Kalai says

    April 18, 2021 at 11:38 pm

    My husband likes only this recipe in my preparation

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      April 19, 2021 at 4:43 pm

      🙂 Thank you

      Reply
  3. Indumathi Kandasamy says

    February 9, 2021 at 9:45 am

    Hello, hope you are doing good! Thank you so much for a such a delicious thokku! My kids hate brinjals, but they loved this. 🙂 Suda suda sadham + nallanei + this thokku = bliss! <3 This is a keeper! And your pavakkai thokku recipe – ultimate! 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      February 9, 2021 at 10:09 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Sowmya Surya says

    April 16, 2020 at 2:37 pm

    I love this recipe! My family does not like brinjal at all but they love this thokku. Started making it frequently. Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Chella says

    October 16, 2019 at 10:15 pm

    HI Suguna
    This is a very nice thokku with brinjal, ppl who hate brinjal will defo not even identify its presence in this dish. I enjoyed savoring the new taste and this is going to be a keeper recipe like several of urs. Thanks for being such a creative mind and for also giving credit to the person for their recipe. So humbling.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      October 17, 2019 at 3:38 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  6. Subasri says

    December 7, 2018 at 8:48 am

    How many days this tokku will be nice if it is refrigerated. As we are planning for a three days trip we can have this ?

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 7, 2018 at 8:43 pm

      No. This wont stay good for long trips.

      Reply
  7. Gokila says

    August 3, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    Loved this recipe madam.. can we store this curry for one week..

    ★★★★

    Reply
  8. SK says

    July 10, 2018 at 12:45 pm

    Hi Kannama,

    Hope you’re doing well 🙂

    May I know what can I substitute for the tamarind paste?

    Reply
  9. Alan Orton says

    June 1, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    Hi Suguna
    I love to try out your recipes but before I do can you please clarify how much time it takes for a pressure cooker to cook on medium before the first whistle?
    My pressure cooker brand in Australia does not whistle.It just works by time and it does not have a valve that pops up.Once you see a steady stream of steam escape from the valve you need to reduce the heat from high to low temperature and then time the cooking.For example I whole chicken takes about 11 minutes on low temperature before you turn off the stove, release the valve and let the pressure escape before opening the cooker .Also for the second whistle does it mean that I just double the time of the first whistle and so on for three and four?
    Hope this makes sense.
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      June 3, 2018 at 2:57 am

      Hi Alan,
      I am not very sure about Australian cookers as I have never handled one. Sorry I am not able to help you on this.

      Reply
  10. Dhivya says

    May 10, 2018 at 12:55 am

    Thanks for the recipe. My husband and I liked it very much.. sharing the recipe with mom and Mil too .

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      May 10, 2018 at 1:36 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  11. Suganya says

    May 8, 2018 at 9:22 am

    I’m new to your site and randomly tried this brinjal curry and okra pulikozhambhu…. Both were awesome , i couldnt believe myself that i could cook this tasty. Thanks much for your awesome recipes suguna. Helps a lot for beginnners.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      May 10, 2018 at 12:42 am

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  12. Andal says

    June 16, 2017 at 8:59 pm

    Dear sugu sis.,
    Vanakkam..made this for packing lunch. It turned out real good. My husband always likes brinjal as a fried curry as we prepare potato,okra…..But I badly wanted to try this one. So made in a hurry before he could sneak peak into the kitchen. Ah..he came exactly when I was transferring the cut brinjal to the cooker. He was taken aback and asked “are you going to pressure cook the brinjal”.
    I kept mum and just served for breakfast itself wit idli…. He had the first morsel and there came the moment…”mmmm. Nallairuke”. So this recipe is a winner! Thanks again deary.
    And some brinjals are bitter what we call KAARAL in Tamil esp in brinjal. It’s pure luck to get good brinjals. We can’t find out even while cutting. Soaking in tamarind water MAY help. In summer almost every time I bought ,it was bitter. Season also play a role.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      June 19, 2017 at 2:31 pm

      Thank you Andal! True Andal. Brinjal sometimes turnes out like that. I will try your tip.

      Reply
  13. Sudha says

    April 3, 2017 at 8:55 am

    Hi Suguna,

    Was about to try this recipe and then noticed that you’re thickening the mixture in a different pan after you pressure cook it.

    Is there any particular reason to do this or can we directly thicken the brinjal thokku after we open the pressure cooker lid?

    I’d prefer not having to wash two vessels if I can do it with just one.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      April 3, 2017 at 2:11 pm

      Sure, you can do that Sudha. Flat pan makes the reduction faster. You can sure reduce in the pressure cooker.

      Reply
  14. Saranya says

    March 25, 2017 at 12:16 am

    Hi Suguna,

    This looks very interesting!! can I make it with the big brinjals (not sure what they call it here, but its the long one rather than the tiny ones we find in India).Meanwhile, I will go hunt for the smaller brinjals!

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      March 26, 2017 at 1:31 am

      Sure Saranya. You can do with bigger ones.

      Reply
  15. Durga says

    November 6, 2016 at 11:23 am

    Mam how many days we can refirigate this one

    Reply
  16. Rajji says

    October 18, 2016 at 11:49 am

    Hi dear…
    How to avoid bitter taste of brinjal even though all the masala added as per instruction…
    The taste of brinjal was bit bitter..
    Rajji

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      October 18, 2016 at 4:46 pm

      Thats strange! may be try with smaller tender brinjals next time!

      Reply
    • Poornima says

      October 28, 2016 at 5:42 pm

      I am told that once the brinjal seeds acquire a pronounced blackish appearance the brinjal is bound to taste more bitter. Soaking them in mild tamarind water at prep stage often helps tone the bitterness.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Suguna Vinodh says

        October 29, 2016 at 9:50 am

        Thats nice to know Poornima. Thank You!

        Reply
  17. C.V.Poornima says

    October 17, 2016 at 1:00 pm

    Such a yum recipe… made it last week. the entire house was filled with the curry masala flavours and caught the curiosity of everyone at home… What’s cooking? Smells delicious! thanks for sharing a lovely recipe and the story behind the curry powder. evoked memories of my childhood.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      October 17, 2016 at 4:13 pm

      Thank you so much. Really glad that you liked the recipe.

      Reply
  18. Poorni says

    August 10, 2016 at 3:45 am

    How long can we store this?

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      August 13, 2016 at 9:53 am

      For a couple of days in the refrigerator.

      Reply
  19. Carina Simeon says

    July 9, 2016 at 2:07 pm

    Namaskaram Suguna…….thanks! Off to my kitchen to try this out. 🙂

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      July 9, 2016 at 2:29 pm

      Namaskaram Carina. Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
  20. v.selvi says

    July 9, 2016 at 11:39 am

    hey
    your website is so nice, All dishes cooks very easy……….
    particularly cooker made cooks so easy and tasty tooo

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      July 9, 2016 at 12:31 pm

      Thank You Selvi!

      Reply
  21. Gowtha Karthik says

    July 8, 2016 at 12:08 pm

    Hi Kannamma,

    Your blog is tooo gud and story behind each recipe gets hooked me to it. Infact,I have read almost all the recipes…Its very interesting..Suggest you author a book Kannamma…Tried this thokku on a rainy day and it was a block buster hit..

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      July 8, 2016 at 2:17 pm

      Thank you so much. Me authoring a cookbook? God willing, maybe someday. Thanks a lot.

      Reply

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I’m Suguna, a former financial analyst, now a full-time food blogger. Welcome to my space. I share recipes gathered from my friends and family here. I am passionate about South Indian food. I crazy love knives. A sharp knife is a girls best friend. Hope you like the recipes here. Happy Cooking. Read more.....

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