Brinjal thokku is a popular South Indian dish made with eggplant, tomatoes, onions, and a blend of spices. The eggplant is cooked until soft and then mashed to create a thick and flavorful paste. It is often served as a side dish with rice or roti. The dish is known for its rich and tangy taste. This makes it a favorite among vegetarians and those who enjoy spicy food.
How to make
Brinjal Thokku is a flavorful South Indian dish made with brinjal (eggplant) and a blend of spices. To prepare it, start by roasting sesame and fenugreek seeds in a dry kadai until they become fragrant. Next, grind them into a powder. Soak tamarind in water to extract the juice and chop onions and brinjal finely. In a thick-bottomed kadai, heat oil. Add and temper mustard seeds, Bengal gram dal, urad dal, asafoetida, red chilies, and curry leaves. Sauté the onions until glossy, then add brinjal and cook until tender, adding water if necessary. Season the mixture with red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and salt. Then, incorporate the tamarind extract and jaggery. Cook the mixture until it thickens. Finally, mix in the sesame and fenugreek powder and adjust the consistency with oil if needed. Cook until the oil begins to separate and enjoy this tangy and spicy brinjal relish with rice or flatbreads.
Brinjal Thokku Recipe
Brinjal Thokku
5
servings10
minutes20
minutesThis brinjal thokku is made with brinjal (egg plant) and other common Indian spices. It can be served mixed with hot rice or with chapati/bread.
Ingredients
Brinjal (Medium size) – 5
Onion – 1
Tamarind – a small lemon size
Red Chilli Powder – 1 teaspoon
Coriander Powder – 2 teaspoons
Turmeric Powder – ¼ teaspoon
Jaggery powdered – 1 teaspoon (Optional)
- For seasoning:
Oil – 3 to 4 tablespoons
Mustard – ½ teaspoon
Bengal gram dal – 1 teaspoon
Urad dal – 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida Powder – ¼ teaspoon
Red Chillies – 2
Curry Leaves – few
Salt – 1 teaspoon or as per taste
- To fry and grind:
Til seeds – 1 tablespoon
Fenugreek – ½ teaspoon
Directions
- In a dry kadai, add the sesame seeds and fry until they start crackling. Remove and set aside.
- In the same kadai, add the fenugreek seeds and fry until they turn light brown. Allow the seeds to cool, then powder both the sesame and fenugreek seeds together. Set the powder aside.
- Soak the tamarind in a cup of water and extract the juice.
- Finely chop the onion and brinjal into small pieces.
- In a thick-bottomed kadai, heat the oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. Once they start to pop, add Bengal gram dal, urad dal, asafoetida powder, red chilies, and curry leaves.
- Add the chopped onion and fry until it turns glossy. Then, add the brinjal pieces and fry for a few minutes. Cover with a lid and cook on low flame. There’s usually no need to add water. Still, if necessary, sprinkle a handful of water and cook until the brinjal is soft.
- Once the brinjal is cooked and tender, add red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and salt. Mix well.
- Add the tamarind extract and stir thoroughly. Then, add the jaggery powder. Cover with the lid and cook until the mixture thickens.
- Finally, add the sesame and fenugreek powder, mixing well. If the mixture appears dry, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of oil. Cook until the oil begins to ooze out.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Additionally, you can grind the brinjals into a paste for the aforementioned recipe. To do this, first sauté the brinjal pieces in a teaspoon of oil. Let them cool. Then blend into a coarse paste. Alternatively, grill the entire brinjal, peel off the skin, and then grind it. If you wish to preserve the thokku for about a week, a little more oil.
Aunty,
Is this thokku stay long or should I use it on the same day?
My family just finished enjoying this dish. Thank you for this. I definitely will be trying out all your other recipes.
I live in Canada
Thank you for your kind feed back.
Aunty ,
I tried ur Wheat Payasam, it was very good. Everybody n my family liked it. Thanks Aunty
Thank you Vidya for your kind feedback.
Mam
I tried stuffed brinjal curry. it was so yummy. thanks. now i have become a frequent visitor to your site.
Thanks for this receipe. Turned out yum.
Mam, what’s d difference between brinjal
rasavangi and pitlai?
Basically, rasavangi, pitali and sambar are same. But for rasavangi Whole gram (Kondai kadali) is added and for pitlai bengal gram is added.
Hi Aunty,
This is very tasty- similar to ennai kathirikai. It is so simple to do without onions and tomatoes. Will definitely go into my little note book. Thank u so much!!
Thanks for this wonderful site.
Can you please tell me different recipes to make with “kovakai”?
Hi Aruna,
Check this link for some kovakai recipes https://www.kamalascorner.com/tag/kovakkai
Your website is great ! I made the bring jail thokku today however it turned out to taste bitter.,, what am I doing wrong ? I used the same measurements u suggested….thanks ! Lakshmi
Hi Lakshmi,
Some variety of brinjal tastes bitter. May be that is the reason. Try with good quality big size brinjal.
hello madam,
I tried this recipe & it was tasty.And i would like to have the recipe for the brinjal curry which is given as side dish for biriyani. can you kindly help me,
Thank you for your feed back. The brinjal curry served with biriyani differs slightly. You can try the stuffed brinjal which will also go well with Biriyani.
your recipes are excellent
Thank you Raji.
I just made this thokku for a Diwali dinner last night. My guests LOVED it, and it was gone in minutes. It is easy to make and truly delicious.
Thank you for your kind feed back.
I am an Indian settled in UK. I tried the brinjal thokku with the big brinjal, 5 to 10 times the small Indian ones. This has come out nice, taking it for our Christmas Party. Easy to make with very clear instructions, especially, for a husband, cooks very occasionally!
Thank you Dr for your kind feed back.
I just discovered this site and it is awesome. I made this recipe and it came out very well.definitely an easy kathirikkai with lots of flavor.
Welcome to our site Sudha. Thank you for your kind feed back.