Gutti Vankaya is a South Indian, Andhra specialty. Baby eggplants are stuffed with spicy peanut filling and cooked to perfection. Serve with rice for a lip smacking meal.
This post was originally published in August 2011. Post updated with detailed recipe card and new pictures in February 2020.
Gutti Vankaya happens to be my absolute favorite dish. All of my blogging marathon friends know my love of eggplant. I have tons of eggplant recipes on the blog that I have tried and enjoyed.
Andhra Style Stuffed Baby Eggplants:
This Andhra style gutti vankaya kura/ curry is a very popular dish. It is found on many South Indian restaurant menus as well. But I find the restaurant versions are usually drowning in oil and are way too spicy for my taste.
This South Indian stuffed eggplant curry can be made either dry or with a gravy. I prefer the gravy version because it goes well with rice and even roti. Dry curry is great as side dish to dal and rice.
Gutti Vankaya kura without onion & garlic:
So here's my mom's version of homemade gutti vankaya curry. This is a no onion, garlic or ginger recipe. Before I go into the recipe, let me tell you what the recipe name actually means. 'Gutti' means stuffed in Telugu and 'Vankaya' means eggplant. So the name literally translates to 'Stuffed Eggplant'.
Ingredients needed:
- Fresh Indian or Thai style baby eggplants - look out for these at Indian or Asian groceries.
- Roasted peanuts and sesame seeds form the base for the curry. I always have store bought unsalted roasted peanuts in the pantry. But you can easily dry roast the peanuts and use them here.
- Dry red chilies give the necessary heat to the dish. Following spices are added to add flavor and beautiful aroma: Coriander, Cumin, Cloves, Cinnamon.
- Finally tamarind pulp rounds off the dish with the sourness. Tamarind is a difficult ingredient to substitute. It is sour with notes of sweetness. So try to source it from well stocked supermarkets or online.
Stuffing and Cooking the Eggplant:
Make an “+” cut on the bottom of the eggplant, about ¾th of the way up, making sure that the eggplant still holds together and does not become pieces.
Then the spice paste is stuffed into the eggplant. This is the most time consuming process of making this dish. So if you can delegate to someone else, then definitely do it. Do not worry about any remaining spice paste. That goes into the curry making a nice sauce around the eggplant.
Once all the eggplants are stuffed, then cook them on low flame, stirring occasionally, until they are completely cooked through. Serve with steamed rice or roti and enjoy this amazing Andhra curry.
Top Tips:
There is a version of stuffed eggplant/ brinjal in every state in India. The stuffing and the same differs from region to region. Call it bharli vangi or ennai katharikai or badanekai yennegai, it is still the same silky eggplant cooked in a delicious spice mixture. To make the best eggplant dish, here are a few tips:
- Choose the freshest eggplant that you can find. Pick small baby eggplant and make sure all of them are of the same size.
- Crowns should be bright green and not brown.
- When gently pressed, they should be are firm but not too hard. Also avoid anything with bruises.
- Undercooked eggplant tastes bad - so cooking it thoroughly low and slow on medium-low heat is the key to get the best taste and texture.
- This curry can be made in the pressure cooker or an Instant Pot to expedite the cooking process and also to make sure that the eggplant are thoroughly cooked through.
Gutti Vankaya Kura (Andhra Style Stuffed Eggplant Curry)
Ingredients
For the masala/ spice paste:
- ½ cup Peanuts
- 3 tbsp Sesame seeds, dry roasted until golden
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
- 4 Cloves
- 1" Cinnamon stick
- 6 Dry red chilies
- 2 tbsp Tamarind pulp
For the Curry:
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 12~15 Baby eggplants, washed and dried
- To Taste Salt
Instructions
Make the Spice Paste:
- Dry roast the ingredients listed under masala until golden brown and fragrant. Cool slightly and grind along with tamarind pulp, salt and a few drops of water to make a smooth, thick paste.
Prep the Eggplant:
- Make a “+” cut on the bottom of the eggplant, about ¾th of the way up, making sure that the eggplant still holds together and does not become pieces. Keep aside.
- Gently open the eggplants and stuff the masala inside. Continue doing it for the remaining eggplants. Set any remaining stuffing to the side as this will be used to make the gravy for the dish.
Make Gutti Vankaya Kura:
- Heat oil in a sauté pan; arrange the stuffed eggplants in the pan. Cook covered on medium low heat until eggplants are about ¾th cooked.
- Add ½ cup of water to the left over masala and pour it into the pan, cover and cook until the sauce is bubbly and the eggplants are cooked all the way through.
- Check seasonings and serve with rice or roti. This dish is usually served with steamed white rice, but can also served be with some pongal (khichdi).
Notes
- Choose the freshest eggplant that you can find. Pick small baby eggplant and make sure all of them are of the same size.
- Crowns should be bright green and not brown.
- When gently pressed, they should be are firm but not too hard. Also avoid anything with bruises.
- Undercooked eggplant tastes bad - so cooking it thoroughly low and slow on medium-low heat is the key to get the best taste and texture.
- This curry can be made in the pressure cooker or an Instant Pot to expedite the cooking process and also to make sure that the eggplant are thoroughly cooked through.
Priti S
Looks delicious...love this n pics
mrkk08
Woww. this is a very popular dish.. i have had this at my friends place 🙂 Love it.. Look so yummy 🙂
Mélange
WoW !! My God,your Vankaya kura has dragged me here from reader..It's totally tempting and enjoyed reading you..Haha..you are such a jovial person.I would love to try this soon..!
Deepthidigvijay
aha emi ruchi anara maimarachi!!!!! i just remembered that song dear after peeping in!!!! looks yumm!!!looks yumm!!!!Good Food RecipesFood Blog News
Sharmilee! :)
Slurrp yummy brinjal curry...perfect with hot rice
Venu
Superb looking curry..looks delicious n yumm
Spandana
Nice pics... This is one of my fav curry. Although mine has more gravy, you can check out my version in my blog.-Spandanahttp://www.cooklikemom.net/
Usha Rao
Even I look for shortcuts when cooking. Gutti vankaya kura looks delicious!
Nithya
So authentic 🙂 Dad loves brinjals. Will make this for him as a surprise 🙂
Sia
stunning pics of one of my fav recipes!
Kicka
This looks SO good - I lived in South India last year, and have been craving this dish since I left. I'm off to the farmer's market this morning to buy me some eggplant! Thank you!
Domestic Deepa
Looks delicious - can smell the fragrant spices through your pics!!
Sag
pavani ,i followed your recipe with few modifications and tried with microwave.it came out well.check herehttp://healthy-transition.blogspot.com/2012/07/easy-gutthi-vankaya-stuffed-eggplant.html
Mythreyi
Looks delicious and my all time favorite..-MythreyiYum! Yum! Yum!
sai krupa
It's so delicious recipe of Gutti Vankaya Kura in an Andhra Style Recipes, So yummy... Thanks for giving out an easy making procedure which looks very good.
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i love brinjalTelugu Cinema tollywoodpolitics
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