Gothsu is a famous South Indian side dish for idli, dosa and most popularly paired with Ven pongal. There are different type of gothsu recipes and the most sorted or preferred is the one made with Brinjal/ eggplant which suits perfectly for khara pongal / ven pongal. Chidambaram in Tamilnadu is very famous for this dish and and is a staple in most brahmin households. Gothsu can be made simple or seasoned with lot of spice powders. Today I'm going to share my MIl's recipe which is very simple, mildly flavored and easy to make.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian, south indian, tamil nadu
Keyword: brinjal gothsu, chidambaram gothsu, how to make gothsu, kathirikkai gothsu
Servings: 4
Author: Mullai Madavan
Equipment
Pressure cooker
Ingredients
Ingredients for Pressure cooking
1/2cupYellow Moong Dal Soaked for atleast 1 hour
5mediumBrinjal
1/2cupSmall Onions / Sambar onions chopped or 10 small onions
1/4cupTomato chopped
5smallGreen Chili slit open
1/4cupTurmeric powder
1/2tspSalt
1cupWater
Ingredients for the tempering and simmer
1tspMustard seeds
1/2tspCumin seeds
6leavesCurry leaves
1/2tspAsafoetida
2tbspTamarind juice small marble size diluted in water
1tbspOil
1tspCoriander leaves chopped
Instructions
Soak yellow moong dal for atleast an hour and keep it ready.
Wash the brinjal, chop the head off and then cut them into quarters. Chop and onions, green chilies and tomatoes.
Take soaked moong dal in a pressure cooker safe bowl, add in cut onions, green chilies, chopped tomatoes and brinjal. Add in 1 cup of water along with turmeric powder and salt.
Place them in a pressure cooker ( yellow moong has a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan if cooked directly in the pressure pan, hence i have filled the pan with water and then steamed the dal and veggies in another bowl) Also it has the tendency to leak from the whistle when cooking and this step avoids that to an extent.
Pressure cook for upto 2 whistles and wait for the steam to settle.
Now heat oil in a kadai and temper with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and some asafoetida powder. Let them sizzle a bit.
Add in the cooked mixture to the seasoning.
Add in 1/4 cup water and lightly mix and simmer. (Do not mash or stir vigorously) Check for salt and add if necessary.
Add in tamarind juice / paste and simmer for few minutes.
Switch off when the desired consistency is reached. (Almost semi thick) Garnish with coriander and curry leaves. Serve it hot as a side for Idli, Dosa, or Pongal.
Notes
Soaking moong for at least an hour is the key to cook it soft in the cooker. Or you may dry roast it in a tawa and then cook it. If the dal is not soaked or roasted properly it will not cook soft in 2 whistles. Normally we don't mash the dal for this recipe, it perfectly cooks soft in the cooker and the brinjals do keep its shape partially. You may mash it if you wish. Green chilies is the only source of heat element in this recipe, so add more if you prefer it little spicy. Small onions or sambar onion adds in lot of flavor to the dish. Try making with it.