• Aubergine - 2 or Egg plant - 18-20
• Onion - 2 medium
• Tomato - 4
• Garlic - 3-4 cloves
• Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
• Green chilli - 1
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp heaped
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Tomato puree - 1 tsp heaped(optional)
• Curry leaves - few
• Peanuts - 30g
• White sesame seeds - 2 tblsp
• Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Sesame oil - 20ml
• Sunflower oil - 120ml
• Tamarind - ball of 1" diameter
• Warm water - 100ml
• Water - as required
• Salt - to taste

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1. Chop the aubergines ( or egg plant or brinjal) into 3" long and 1cm thick pieces.
2. Wash and soak the tamarind in warm water for few minutes.
3. Cut onion, tomatoes and chilli.
4. Squeeze out the tamarind pulp, strain and keep this tamarind juice aside.
5. Fry the aubergine in a pan of sunflower oil batch by batch until they become light brown and set aside separately.
6. Toast the methi seeds and mustard seeds for 1-2 minutes in a pan with no oil, grind finely without any water and keep aside.
7. Toast the peanuts well in a pan with no oil until they are light brown in colour and set aside.
8. Toast the sesame seeds for a 1-2 minutes and grind coarsely with roasted peanuts without any water and keep aside.
9. In the pan used to fry the aubergine, there should be some oil left; add the curry leaves, pepper corns, garlic and onion to the pan.
10. Saute until onion becomes light brown.
11. Add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder, tomato puree and ground methi and mustard seeds.
12. Stir for about 5-6 minutes.
13. Add tamarind juice, sugar and salt; bring it to boil.
14. Add 1/2 a cup of water.
15. Add the fried vegetables and let it cook in the sauce until the vegetable is very soft.
16. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the ground peanuts and sesame seeds.
17. Add a table spoon of sesame oil at the end and leave it on the heat for about 2-3 minutes.
18. Garnish with curry leaves.