Kathirikai kondai kadalai puli kuzhambhu / Eggplant and black channa kuzhambhu in coconut based gravy

Whenever I see nice shining eggplant in the super market, I plan to do this kuzhambhu immediately the next day. In our family, this kuzhambhu goes very well with dosa as well as rice. I also prepare sundal with karuppu kondai kadalai cooked for this kuzhambhu. My mother's version of this kuzhambhu is slightly different from my in-laws. Here goes the recipe:

Items Required:

Eggplant/Kathirikaai - 2 medium sized, cut into small pieces
Onion, tomato - 1 each, cut into small pieces
Karuppu kondai kadalai - 1 cup
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Coriander leaves
Tamarind - 1 small lemon sized
Turmeric powder
Sambar powder
Salt
Red chilly, oil, mustard seeds and jeera - for seasoning

For grinding:

Coconut - 3 slices
Green chilly - 1
Jeera - 1 teaspoon
Fried gram/rice - 1 teaspoon

Pre-requisites before starting to cook:

1. Soak kondai kadalai for 8 hrs in the night. Cook it with fresh water and little amount of salt for 7 whistles.
2. Soak tamarind in water for a minimum of 30 mins.
3. Grind all the items given under 'grinding' section to a smooth paste and keep it aside.

Method:

Heat oil in a kadai. Once oil gets hot, add red chilly and mustard seeds. Once they start to splutter add jeera to it. Now add onion and curry leaves to it. Once onion is nicely cooked, add cooked kondai kadalai and tomato to it and saute them well.

Extract tamarind juice for about half of the kadai and add it to the above mix. Add turmeric powder,salt and the grind paste and bring it to boil. Now add sambar powder as per the taste and allow the kuzhambhu to boil for sometime till the consistency becomes little thick.

Once the kuzhambhu is cooked well, transfer it to a container and garnish with Coriander leaves.

This goes very well with rice, dosa, idly and chapathi.

Variation: For grinding, add coconut, green chilly, onion, tomato and garlic. Grind these to a smooth paste and add it to the recipe. This gives a slightly different taste and a good flavor.

Try it and provide your valuable comments :)