3 Easy brinjal recipes to make your busy days delicious

“What should we cook for dinner today?”

“Should we cook, or let’s order something?”

I often ask these questions to my husband when I wind up my office work. 

Trust me; after a long day at work, cooking at home is not a cakewalk (tell me about it!). 

You need to fight against your brain, which is excellent in showing you the easiest choice, and in this case, it is either dining out or ordering in!

I am sure you may have been in this situation as well. You want to have home-cooked food, but the busy work schedules and time constraints make it challenging. Therefore, I want to help you in your home cooking journey by sharing easy and healthy recipes.

In this article, I will share three easy brinjal recipes you can prepare at home on busy days.  I will also share a few ideas to make these Indian brinjal dishes more delicious.

So, let’s dive in.

Easy brinjal recipes for chapati:

Green brinjal recipe

If you are someone who likes to have chapati, the following brinjal and potato recipe can be a perfect match for you.

Here is the step-by-step procedure:

• Take 4 to 5 medium-sized green brinjals and clean them. You need not peel its skin as it is edible and doesn’t affect the taste of the dish.

• Cut them into small to medium-sized pieces, but do not chop them into too small pieces, because once they are cooked, they will become very soft, and may affect the final texture and appearance of the dish.

• Take 1 medium-sized onion and tomato and finely chop them. You can use 1-2 green chilies, depending on your preference.

• Take 2 medium-sized potatoes and chop them into small to medium size.

• Here is one tip. Add the potatoes with the skin; because there are two reasons. One is that it gives a distinct flavor to your dish. The second one is, it has more nutritional value than peeled potatoes. So, try it out and see the magic!

Once your ingredients are ready, now it’s time to prepare brinjal and potato sabji:

There are two ways to make it. One is using a pressure cooker. Take the above ingredients along with the following:

1. Red chili powder (1 tsp)
2. Turmeric powder (1/2 tsp)
3. Black pepper powder (1/2 tsp) – it is optional (you can use this instead of green chilies)
4. Garam masala powder (2 tsp)
5. Salt (as per taste)

Then add half a cup of water and cook until one whistle. Once the vegetables are ready, you can do tempering or tadka; because why not?

Take 1 – 2 tbsp of oil in a small container and heat it. Then add 1 tsp of mustard seeds, and jeera/cumin seeds and allow them to crackle. Once you hear the crackling sound, add the crushed garlic cloves (2 to 3) and fry them until they turn golden brown color.

Next comes my favorite, curry leaves. Add 4 to 5 curry leaves and fry them until they reach a crispy texture. If you haven’t added green chili, you can add 1 to 2 dry red chilies in the tempering container and fry them until they release the aroma. This will add a pleasant flavor to your green brinjal recipe.

Once your tempering is ready, add it to your dish and cook until it simmers. Add salt as per your taste, and your brinjal recipe for chapati is ready.

In the second method, you can do tempering first and then add the other ingredients.

After preparing the tempering as explained above, add the chopped onions and sauté until they turn transparent. Then add the tomatoes with a little salt so that they cook faster.

Now add the above-mentioned spices and cook until they release oil. Do not overcook or burn the spices in this step as it may affect the final taste of the dish.

Then comes your main ingredients – brinjal and potato. Add them and mix well with the masala. Add a cup of water and cook for about 10 – 15 minutes, and boom your dinner is set!

Purple brinjal recipe:

If you are someone who does not like brinjal, there is a way you can add this nutritious vegetable to your diet.

How?

By preparing baingan ka bhartha!

This delicious purple brinjal recipe pairs perfectly with your roti or paratha. So, let’s find out how to prepare this at home.

Take 3 to 4 clean, large purple brinjals and roast them on the gas flame until their skin peels off. After the roasting, allow them to cool down.

Meanwhile, you can begin with the masala preparation. Take one large onion and a tomato and finely chop them. Take a container, heat the oil, and add mustard seeds or cumin seeds as per your choice. Once the seeds start to crackle, add 2 finely chopped green chilies, 2-3 cloves of garlic, and 4-5 curry leaves and sauté for one minute.

Then add the chopped onion and saute in oil until it turns slightly golden brown. Then add the tomatoes, salt, and cook on low flame until tomatoes are cooked.

Now check on the roasted brinjals, and if it is cooled down, begin to peel off its skin and keep the flesh aside in a container. Mash them (using all your power :D) to make a fine puree.

Once the onion-tomato mixture is ready to go, add the following spices.

1. Red chili powder – 1.5 tsp
2. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
3. Garam masala powder – 2 tsp

Mix thoroughly and cook for about 2-3 minutes until the spices blend with the onion-tomato mixture. Once this base is ready, add the brinjal puree, and sauté until it is perfectly mixed with the masala. Add salt to taste and you can add either coriander leaves or Kasuri methi for the extra punch of flavor.

Brinjal recipe for rice:

Are you someone who is a rice lover? No worries, there is a simple brinjal and potato curry recipe that goes well with your choice of rice.

So, how to make brinjal curry? Let’s find out.

To begin with, prepare a coconut-based paste using the following ingredients:

1. Freshly grated coconut – 7 to 8 tbsp
2. Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp
3. Cumin seeds – ½ tbsp
4. Black pepper seeds – 3 to 4 seeds (you can add more if you want a spicy gravy)
5. Onion – 1 small
6. Garlic cloves – 2 to 3
7. Dry red chilies – 3 to 4

Blend all these ingredients into a smooth paste. To save time, you can prepare this paste, add salt to it, and store it in the freezer, so that when you need it, you can just defrost and use it. (I prepare this on the weekend and use it in the preceding week).

Then take chopped brinjals and potatoes in a pressure cooker, add half a cup of water, salt to taste, and 1 tsp of turmeric powder, and cook until one whistle.

To prepare the gravy, heat oil in a container and add mustard seeds. Once they crackle add 3 -4 curry leaves and saute until they become crispy.

Then add the paste and saute for about 2 minutes so that the raw flavor of the paste reduces. Now add the cooked brinjal and potato (along with the water used for their cooking as all the nutrients would be present in it) and mix with the gravy masala.

You can add more water depending on the type of curry consistency you like. Add salt to taste and that’s it, serve yourself with this delight.

Conclusion

Brinjal is one of the nutritious vegetable which is higher in fiber and micronutrients. If you are eager to know what this vegetable has to offer, read this page.

That’s it from my end. The above are the simple and easy brinjal recipes you can serve yourself on busy days. Which of these recipes is your favorite? Are you going to try any of these Indian brinjal dishes? Please let me know 😊

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