Eggplant with roasted peanuts and sweet sauce

This is something that Amma makes very very well. I just tried it out yesterday and it wasn't too bad. Has a tangy-sweet flavour to it. You can make it with a thick gravy or dry...whichever way you like it. Goes well with rotis and rice.

Ingredients

1. Purple brinjals - cut into thin, long pieces (you can cut it anyway you like..am just used to this :))
2. Jaggery and tamarind soaked in a cup of water.
3. Roasted and coarsely crushed peanuts
4. Jeera
5. Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
6. Red chilli powder - 1.5 tsp
7. Oil for cooking
8. Salt to taste

How to do it:

Heat about 2 - 3 tbsp oil in a deep pan and add jeera and turmeric powder. After a few seconds, add the cut brinjals and sautee till the brinjals become soft. Add a pinch of salt while sauteeing. You can multi-task and soak the tamarind and jaggery (a small piece of jaggery and about an inch of tamarind) and keep squishing the tamarind in the water till the jaggery dissolves completely and the water becomes thick and full of flavour. Add the tam-jag water and the roasted and crushed peanuts to the sauteed brinjals, add salt and let it simmer. If you want a thick gravy, you need to add more of the tam-jag water and the peanuts as well. Let it simmer for a few minutes till the brinjals soak in the flavour completely. Keep mixing well. You can garnish with finely chopped coriander and serve hot. :)

For those who like onions, you can also add finely chopped onions to the brinjals as a variation.