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Vadavam Thovayal

This is a recipe (lightly adapted) from the late Dr. Lourdes Tirouvanziam-Louis’s 2012 book, The Pondicherry Kitchen. It combines the smoky taste of a freshly roasted eggplant with the umami of vadagams and the slight sweet textures of well-roasted coconut. It’s a chutney lives up to every expectation of lickability: you’ll want to make sure your fingers and the chutney jar are licked clean!
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Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 aubergine or gundu katthirikkai
  • ½ tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp vadavam or half a ball
  • ½ coconut, freshly grated
  • 6 dry red chillies
  • A few coriander stems, roughly chopped
  • A little dry tamarind (no need to extract pulp)
  • A little jaggery
  • Salt to taste

Method
 

  1. Roast the eggplant naked on a high flame, turning it periodically until the skin is charred and the flesh is soft. Allow to cool. Peel off the charred skin and discard stem.
  2. In a pan, heat the sesame oil until it is nearly smoking and fry the vadavam for a bare minute. Take care not to burn, as it will turn bitter. Tip this into the jar of a blender.
  3. In the same pan, add the dry red chillies and fry till they are aromatic. Transfer to the same blender jar.
  4. Now add and fry the freshly grated coconut till golden brown. Add the coriander leaves, stir and allow them to wilt slightly then switch off the flame.
  5. When the mixture is cool, add the tamarind, jaggery, salt and roasted aubergine, tip all this into the waiting blender and grind to a paste.
  6. Adjust sweet-sour-salt if necessary.
  7. Serve with hot rice or as part of a mezze platter in place of baba ghanoush.