Eggplant chutney (Vankaya Pachadi)

I have to make some or other kind of chutney once in two days to stop hubby from eating too much pickle. So this is a variety of chutney I often make, I got the recipe from one of the andhra food site and I modified a bit of it....enjoy! I usually use the indian eggplant as it doesn't mash up into a paste when I grind the chutney, but if you can't get the indian eggplant, feel free to use the japanese eggplant or the american purple eggplant. But remember to blend all the blending ingredients and add the eggplant in the end and just pulse a little bit.














Ingredients:
Round Indian eggplant - 4 washed, chopped and soaked in salt water
Green chillies - 7-8(I like it very spicy, so adjust according to your taste)
Garlic - 3-4 cloves, chopped
Ginger - 1" piece, washed, peeled and chopped
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Tamarind - 4-5 leaves, washed or tamarind paste - 1 tsp
Red onion/White onion - 1 small or 1/2 medium, finely chopped
salt - to taste
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1 pinch
oil - for frying
Coriander leaves - finely chopped for garnish



Method:
In a frying pan, heat about 1 tsp oil and add eggplant pieces and green chillies, cover and let cook till the eggplants start browning and the chillies are soft. Let it cool down a bit. In a blender add garlic, ginger, cumin seeds, tamarind leaves/paste, salt, fried eggplant and chillies and blend into a coarse paste. Take out in a bowl and add raw onions, mix well. In a small frying pan take about 1 tsp oil, when hot add mustard seeds and turmeric and pour onto the chutney, mix well and garnish with coriander. Enjoy!