Preparations:

Wash brinjals. Take a brinjal and cut the stem, cut the brinjal into two parts vertically. Slice each portion of the brinjal. Similarly cut all the brinjals into semi circle slices. Take the brinjal pieces into a microwave safe bowl and add 1Tbsp oil and 1/4tsp salt. mix the brinjal pieces well to coat oil and salt evenly to all pieces. Place this bowl in microwave oven and cover it partially. Cook the brinjal pieces on high power for 2 minutes. Stir once with a spoon and again cook on high power for 2 minutes. Allow 2 minutes standing time before removing the bowl from oven. Spread the cooked brinjal pieces in a plate and allow them to cool.

Method:

Take curd and smoothen it with a whisk. Add salt and cooled cooked brinjal pieces and mix well. Add some chopped coriander and mix again.

Let us now season the raita.

Heat a pan and add remaining 1Tbsp oil. When oil is hot add cumin seeds and red chili flakes. Fry well and switch off the flame. Now add turmeric powder and mix well. Immediately add the seasoning to the prepared curd and mix well. Garnish with remaining chopped coriander and serve. This dish is a nice accompaniment to pulaos, biriyanis and parathas. This can also be served with plain rice.

Points to Observe:

Generally the brinjal pieces are deep fried in oil before adding to curd. To cut down on calories we have cooked the brinjal pieces in microwave oven.

 Adding salt to the brinjal pieces releases water from the vegetable with which the vegetable gets cooked.

Adding oil to the brinjal pieces will not allow the vegetable to become mushy while getting cooked. We get the fried texture by cooking brinjals adding oil in a microwave oven.

Fried cumin seeds give a nice flavor to this raita. See that the cumin splutters fully to release its flavor--for this heating oil sufficiently is important.

Turmeric powder gives a bright color to the dish.

Red chili flakes spice the dish without giving the dish a dark red color. Adding red chili powder changes the color of the dish.

Garnishing it with coriander leaves adds flavor & color to the dish. Serve chilled with any hot pulao, biriyani ,parathas or plain rice.