Kathrikai Gothsu

This is an easy to make side dish for idli, Dosai, Arisi upma and pongal.

And it's the best side dish for Idli! 

It's best if you can find the medium sized soft Indian brinjals. Otherwise an Italian eggplant that's soft to touch will work very well. 

You start with roasting the eggplant directly on fire. I've done them in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil when my apartment stove had electric coils. But have to say the charred taste of the eggplant is the best. So if you have a gas stove, please do them on the stove. I have a grill that I use only for this purpose! 

Make sure the Brinjal is cooked all over, cos if that's uncooked, it's going to taste bad.

To make gothsu for 2 people that love gothsu and eat more gothsu than idlies, You need:

Two really big and soft (Italian) eggplants, charred, peeled, and mashed with hand.

Oil-- 2 tsp

Mustard seeds -- 1/2 tsp

Green chili -- 4 or 5 

Tamarind -- lime sized 

Red chili -- 1

Curry leaves - few

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida -- 1/4 tsp

If you have a kalchetti, it works very well. Otherwise an heavy bottomed vessel will work.

---> soak the tamarind in about a cup of warm water and let it sit

---> during this time, take out your kalchetti and revel in its beauty :) 

---> take a break and put the brinjals on a medium flame, you could put two on the same flame if you have a big stove or do it one by one.

--->Make sure to turn them around so they get charred all over.

---> keep aside and let cool and use this time again to admire the beauty of your kalchetti( if you have one) 

--->mash the tamarind and squeeze the pulp, and add some more water to this

---> scoop out the pulp from the charred brinjals and mash it and mix it with the tamarind 

--->break the chillis in to two and keep all the other things handy near the stove

You could chop them but it makes the gothsu super spicy. 

--->On a medium flame, add some oil in the kalchetti. Let it get hot. Once it's hot, add the mustard seeds. Let them sputter.

---> now add the chillies, curry leaves, hing, turmeric powder and reduce the flame and now add the tamarind brinjal mixture to the kal chetti

---> add some salt and let it come to one boil,

---> this should not be boiling too much..

---> make some super soft idlies or dosai and enjoy it :)