Authentic Gutti Vankaya Dry Recipe | Andhra style Stuffed Brinjal Fry

Gutti Vankaya Dry is a special stuffed brinjal dry curry dish from Andhra cuisine. It is a popular South Indian side dish prepared by stuffing brinjals with peanuts, coconut, sesame, and spices mixture. This makes a lovely and tasty side dish with rice and any dal.

Brinjal is one of my favorite vegetables and I love it in all forms, from the simple unassuming brinjal stir-fry to the slightly time-consuming stuffed brinjals.

Today I’m sharing my grandmother’s gutti vankaya dry recipe. It is one of my favorite vegetable curries she makes.

I have shared quite a few brinjal recipes on the blog – bharli vangi, bagara baingan, gutti vankaya pulao, baingan masala. Next time you get some baby brinjals do try this easy gutti vankaya dry recipe.

What is Gutti Vankaya Dry?

Gutti Vankaya Dry is one of the popular side dishes common among South Indian homes, especially in Andhra and Telangana.

The term Gutti a Telugu word that translates to “stuffed” in English and vankaya translates to “eggplant” or “brinjal“. Gutti Vankaya simply translates to stuffed brinjal. It requires a special homemade spice powder called “Podi” which is made with lentils, nuts, seeds, spices, and herbs.

Gutti Vankaya is prepared in two versions:

1. Dry.

2. Gravy.

Apart from everyday meals, you will also find gutti vankaya (dry or gravy) on the festive or wedding menus.

About Gutti Vankaya Dry Recipe

Gutti Vankaya Dry Recipe is made with tender, small purple-color brinjal that is stuffed with freshly roasted and ground masala powder/podi which is then simmered until tender.

This is a simple stuffed brinjal fry recipe to make but does take time to prepare. The gutti vankaya dry recipe may look a little intimidating at the first glance. Making the podi can seem an extra step and a bit lengthy process, but it’s absolutely worth spending the extra time!

The gutti vankaya dry recipe involves three main steps-

1. Prepare the stuffing spice mix.

2. Prep and stuff the brinjals with the spice mix.

3. Cook the stuffed brinjals.

There are many variations to preparing the filling with a few variations in ingredients and proportions. What I like about this recipe is the different ingredients in the stuffing with peanuts as the main ingredient.

The freshly ground stuffing masala powder is a unique spice combination where nuts, spices, seeds, herbs, and lentils are perfectly roasted and ground to a coarse powder. The masala powder has a unique flavor profile – spicy, tangy, and nutty, with a hint of sweetness.

Though the gutti vankaya dish is a popular dish across South India, the ingredients vary according to the region of the people. The ingredients and making of the dish give a unique taste, texture, and flavor.

I have tasted gutti vankaya vepudu in many restaurants and noticed a difference in texture compared to homestyle. In the restaurants, slit brinjals are deep fried, then stuffed with the spice mix and sauteed in little oil, and topped with more spice mix.

But, in this recipe, I have stuffed the brinjals and shallow fried until tender. As you roast the stuffed brinjals the kitchen will be filled with an incredible aroma.

Reasons to make

Easy to make recipe.

Will tantalize your taste buds.

Need just a handful of ingredients.

Freshly ground masala has magical flavors.

Mood lifting.

Vegetarian and Vegan.

Pro Tips

Choosing the right eggplants is one of the important things to achieve a delicious dish. So picking small ones of roughly the same size, tender, and glossy purple eggplants is key. Avoid the ones that have wrinkled skin.

Don’t dry roast all the stuffing ingredients at once. Ingredients mentioned under stuffing take different time to cook. So add them in the order mentioned in this recipe. This process avoids over or undercooking the ingredients.

Patience and attention are the key to this recipe. We need to slow roast the stuffing ingredients and simmer the stuffed brinjals on low flame.

Ingredients

Eggplant: You will need baby brinjals (small brinjals) to make this recipe. Use either purple or green Indian variety eggplant.

Cooking oil

Spice blend: peanuts, coriander seeds, cumin, dry red chilies, curry leaves, garlic, tamarind, fenugreek seeds, lentils (chana dal and urad dal), asafoetida, sesame seeds, coconut (dry or desiccated), and oil.

To make the dish gluten-free, skip adding asafoetida.

How to make Gutti Vankaya Dry

Step 1: Preparing the Stuffing Masala

1. Heat a wide pan over medium flame. When warm, turn the flame to low and add raw peanuts, saute for 30 seconds.

2. Add chana dal, urad dal, and fenugreek seeds. Continue to saute until they change color to slighty golden.

3. Next, add coriander seeds, cumin, and fenugreek seeds. Saute until they are aromatic.

4. Once aromatic, add dry red chilies, garlic cloves, and curry leaves. Saute until leaves turn crisp.

Sauteeing the garlic will help get rid of the moisture and not turn paste while grinding.

5. Add sesame seeds and desiccated/dry coconut and saute by stirring continuously until the coconut change color to slightly golden.

6. Turn off the flame and add tamarind. Mix well.

The residual heat will be enough to soften the tamarind.

7. Keep aside and let the mixture cool down completely.

8. Transfer them to a blender jar. Add salt and grind to a coarse powder without adding any water. Add 1/2 tbsp of oil and pulse for 5 seconds, the stuffing mixture will come together well.

You can grind half of the spices coarsely and the other half finely.

Step 2: Preparing Brinjals

9. Rinse all the eggplants and pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel. Trim the stalk a little of all the brinjals.

Take one brinjal at a time, and make a plus (+) slit on the bottom of the brinjal keeping one end intact.

10. Stuff the masala in each brinjal and keep it aside. Repeat the same for the rest of the brinjals. There will be some leftover masala which we will use later.

The stuffing measure might vary, you can add more or less as per preference.

Step 3: Preparing the Gutti Vankaya Dry

11. Heat oil in the same pan. Then place the stuffed brinjals in the pan.

Spread them around the pan in a single layer to ensure even frying.

12. Gently toss them well to coat them with oil.

13. Cover and cook for about 10 mins on low flame. After every 2-3 minutes, turn the brinjal so that all sides get cooked evenly and don’t get burnt.

Do check in between and if the mixture looks dry or getting too browned, then sprinkle a handful of water all over and stir. Cover and continue to cook.

14. Test the brinjals by piercing one brinjal with a knife. The brinjal should be fork/knife tender and not too hard.

If the brinjals are still uncooked, cover and continue to cook on low flame for another 5-6 minutes or until cooked and tender.

When the brinjals are cooked completely, the skin wilts off.

15. Now add the remaining spice mixture over the brinjals and cook for 5 minutes without the lid till the masala becomes dry. Taste test and add salt and spice (red chili powder), if needed.

Mix well to coat the brinjals with the mixture evenly.

16. Turn off the flame. Gutti Vankaya Dry is ready.

Serve along with hot rice and ghee or any of your favorite meals.

Serving Suggestions

This stuffed brinjal fry is great with plain steamed rice and ghee, with a side of rasam – tomato rasam, pepper rasam, or sambar, palakura pappu, tomato pappu.

Because of the masala stuffing, the dish pairs well with Indian flatbreads like chapati, phulka, akki roti, or jowar bhakri.

It tastes heavenly to have with simple curd rice too.

Storage Suggestions

The stuffed brinjal fry tastes best when served hot. However, if there are any leftovers you can store them for 1-2 days if stored in an air-tight container.

Before serving, reheat it in a pan over the stovetop or microwave until nice and warm. 

You can make the spice mix in advance and can store it in an airtight container for a couple of weeks at room temperature.

Variations

1. This spice mix is very versatile. Make a double or triple batch of the spice mix and you can use it to season different stir-fried vegetable dishes. Or relish the spice powder alone with some hot rice and ghee.

2. By following the same recipe you can make a gravy version, add more tamarind juice+water and boil the stuffed brinjal till oil oozes out.

3. You can alter the quantity of ingredients used for the stuffing for a different flavor profile.

4. Can skip garlic to make no onion no garlic gutti vanakaya fry.

If you’ve tried this Authentic Gutti Vankaya Dry Recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Feedback and suggestions are highly appreciated. Also, please share the recipes with your friends and family members.

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