The Brinjal (Kathirikai) Gothsu paired with Samba Sadham (Pepper and Cumin Rice) is a traditional dish offered to Lord Nataraja at the Chidambaram Temple. While the conventional method involves grilling the brinjals, some prefer to sauté them in a touch of oil. For this renowned Chidambaram Gothsu recipe, I have opted to pressure cook the brinjals.
While this dish is typically accompanied by Samba Sadham, its versatile nature makes it a fitting complement to other dishes such as Idli, Dosa, Upma, and Pongal.
Chidambaram Kathirikai Gothsu
5
servings10
minutes15
minutesThis Brinjal (kathirikai) gothsu with Samba Sadham (Pepper and Jeera Rice) is prepared at Chidambaram Temple as an offering to Lord Nataraja.
Ingredients
Brinjal – 5 to 6
Sambar Onion – 1 cup
Tamarind – A big gooseberry size
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
- Gosthu Powder
Red Chilies – 5
Coriander seeds – 3 tablespoons
Bengal gram dhal – 1 tablespoon
Fenugreek Seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
Black Pepper – 1/4 teaspoon
Asafoetida – Peanut size
- For seasoning
Oil – 4 to 5 tablespoons
Mustard – ½ teaspoon
Urad Dhal – 1 teaspoon
Curry Leaves – few
Salt – 1 teaspoon or as per taste
Directions
- Begin by soaking tamarind in water, later extracting the juice. Proceed to peel the sambar onion.
- Quarter the brinjal into four to five large pieces and place it in a pressure cooker. Add a small amount of water and pressure cook until you hear one whistle. After the pressure has released, remove the lid and mash the cooked brinjal into a coarse paste. Alternatively, you can pulse it in a blender to achieve a similar consistency.
- For the Gothsu Podi, heat a teaspoon of oil in a small kadai. Separately fry the Bengal gram dhal, asafoetida, fenugreek seeds, black pepper, red chillies, and coriander seeds. Allow the mixture to cool, then grind it into a slightly coarse powder.
- In a separate kadai, heat oil and add whole sambar onions — there’s no need to slice them. Fry until a pleasant aroma arises.
- Next, add the tamarind extract and salt, bringing the mixture to a boil.
- Once boiling, incorporate the mashed brinjal and turmeric powder, mixing thoroughly.
- Introduce the Gothsu Podi to the kadai, stirring it into the mix.
- For the final seasoning, heat a teaspoon of oil in a small kadai. When hot, add mustard. As it starts crackling, incorporate urad dhal, frying until it turns a light brown. Add curry leaves.
- Pour this seasoned mixture over the Gothsu, mixing well before removing it from the heat.
Recipe Video
Notes
- In the preparation of Gothsu at the temple, neither onions nor asafoetida are included.
thank you very much for this… I love south indian recipes…
Mouthwatering recipe. going to try this
I tried your vendakai fry today( cocunut+til) very nice…..:) Thank u:)….with try brinjal gosthu and let u know…..
Thank you Gayathri for your kind feed back.
yummy iam going to try dis on week end….
Dear Kamala
you have taken me to 50 years back to Chidambaram .As a student of Annmamalai university i tasted this great dish in one of the restaurants near bus stand. Now I cooked this and enjoyed with my grand children in USA. Your nbaqme also reminded my senior Kamala !1954 batch) whose nick name was loose jacket( kamala orange fruit) Thank you for tis wonderful site.
Dr.Swamy
Great to receive feedback and comments from senior people like you. Thank you.
I tried the chidambaram kathrikai recipe. Came out well thanks
Thank you Rekha Koushik for your feed back.
I have a question. I’m in the middle of making this. Once the brinjal has been pressure cooked and mashed, do I take the skin out or chop it up? I can see big chunks of skin in my mash.
No Need to remove the skin.
Do they use sambar onion in the temple?
Temples, onion is omitted.