Begun Bahaar - Brinjal cooked in shrimp paste

  

I had a meagre amount of prawns lying in the freezer. As I was on the lookout for recipes to use it up, I bumped into this recipe by Sandeepa. The original recipe idea belongs apparently belongs to her SIL. My refrigerator always stocks up Brinjals. I decided to give it a try. The recipe was a huge hit. Infact, when we licked off the bowl in which it was served at the end of our meal, Abbas said that his heart ached that such a yummy dish got over too soon. It will certainly feature in our meals frequently from now on.

Ingredients:
Brinjal - 1 medium sized, cut into thin long strips like french fries
Onion - 3 medium sized, sliced
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Tomatoes - 2 small, finely chopped
Green chillies - 3-4 or more as per spice tolerance
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Prawns - 10-15 peeled, deveined, cleaned (I used 8 large ones)
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - handful, chopped
Lemon juice - 1 tsp (Optional, actually I forgot this)
Oil - 6 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Method:
1. Marinate prawns with salt and turmeric powder. Shallow fry it, remove from oil. Once cooled, grind to a coarse paste and keep aside.
2. Marinate brinjal fingers in salt, turmeric powder and a pinch of sugar. Keep it aside for a while and then shallow fry them. (Addition of sugar reduces the amount of oil absorbed by brinajl)
3. In the same oil, add sliced onions and saute till golden brown.
4. Add ginger and garlic paste, saute till raw smell goes away.
5. Add chopped tomatoes, use the back of spatula to mash the tomatoes as you go sauteeing.
6. Once tomatoes turn mushy, add chillies, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. and combine. Grind into a smooth paste once it gets cooled.
7. In a pan, heat a tbsp of oil. Add cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds.
8. When they splutter, add the fried brinjal fingers, ground masala paste and ground prawns. Add salt and a little water. Cover and cook till brinjals are cooked and the extra moisture dries out.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice.