hungry desi » Eggplant

Eggplant “Barbeque” – Roasted Eggplant with Tamarind

nithya — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:39:02 +0000

A few weeks ago, my parents held a small prayer ceremony in their home to mark the anniversary of my paternal grandfather’s passing. He died when my dad was in his 20′s so I never knew him. As part of the ceremony, my mom prepared foods that were my grandfather’s favorites when he was alive. The food is offered during the ceremony for the deceased.

I got to talking with my dad about Eggplant Barbeque, one of my grandfather’s favorites. My dad made this often when we were growing up. It’s made from a roasted then pureed eggplant. My dad has called it Eggplant Barbeque for as long as I can remember.

I never knew it was one of his father’s favorite foods until now. Certain foods remind me of a place, a trip, a special occasion…but I’ve never had a food associated with such a significant memory – that of a loved one who is no longer with me. It makes me wonder what my dad thought of each time he made Eggplant Barbeque for us. Was he thinking about his father? If so, he never let on.

Baingan Bharta is a common dish in Indian restaurants, but this version is different because it uses South Indian flavors and spices rather than the North Indian spices found in the restaurant version. The South Indian flavors – crunchy channa daal and urad daal, spicy sambar powder, slightly bitter mustard seeds and tangy tamarind juice – allow the velvety, nutty flavory of the eggplant to shine.

Eggplant “Barbeque”

~About 4-5 servings~

~Adapted from my dad’s recipe as told to me~

Roasting an eggplant in your oven will fill your kitchen with a warming, nutty, subtly smoky fragrance as the purple skin blackens that is as enjoyable as the scent of melting butter. That’s right. Melting butter. You can also roast the eggplant over a gas burner (carefully) but my dad recommends doing this in the oven because the stove top method is messy.

2 large eggplants, washed
2 teaspoons channa daal, washed
1 teaspoon urad daal (skinned and split), washed
Handful of curry leaves, washed
2 green chilies, diced or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup tamarind water or to taste
1-2 teaspoons sambar powder
1 teaspoon salt or to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Poke holes in the eggplant with a fork (about 2 on each side to prevent the eggplant from exploding in the oven). Place the eggplants on a cookie tray covered with aluminum foil (I was out of foil which is why you don’t see it in the pictures but it does make clean up easier). Pour a little olive oil into your left palm, rub it together with your right palm then rub both hands along the outside of the eggplants until they are well coated. Place in the oven for about 20-30 minutes until the eggplants begin to look slightly deflated and the skin is darkened.

2. Allow the eggplant to cool enough to handle, then use your hands to peel the skin off. Cut off the stalk from the end. Put the eggplants in a bowl and using a fork, your hands or a potato ricer, mash the eggplant.

3. In a large saucepan, heat about 1 tablespoon oil. Add the channa daal, urad daal, curry leaves, mustard seeds and green chilies if using. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the daal is browned and the mustard seeds have sputtered.

4. Add the onions and saute until softened and translucent about 4-5 minutes.

5. Pour in the tamarind water and allow the juice to bubble. Mix in the eggplant, sambar powder and salt. Add more tamarind water if the eggplant does not have a slightly tangy flavor.

Serve with roti or mix well with basmati rice.

How to roast and prepare the eggplant:

Poke holes in the eggplant, rub with oil and roast at 450 degrees until blackened and deflated.

Use your hands to peel off the skin. It should come off relatively easily.

Cut the stalks off of the end of the skinned eggplants. Be sure to cut close to the base so you don’t lose any precious eggplant.

Using a fork, mash the eggplant. Looks kind of gross I know. But it is velvety, nutty goodness.

No Noodles – Bread and Eggplant Lasagna

nithya — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:53:12 +0000

On Saturday, I declared I was giving up bread in an effort to shed my last “few” baby pounds. On Sunday, I bought a crusty Balthazar baguette which we devoured with mini wedges of brie. On Monday, I dove into a frozen sourdough pullman loaf from FreshDirect (how is frozen bread so good?). Tuesday is a blur but I’m sure there was bread. Then Wednesday, I went and bought a hazelnut raisin loaf from Almondine (Heavenly. Though it’s not my fault I bought it. The guy behind the counter asked if I wanted the last loaf and was incredulous when I hesitated…I guess they usually sell out fast) AND I made a Bread and Eggplant Lasagna.

Obviously, I’m not giving up bread. It’s okay though. The Bread and Eggplant Lasagna is worth it. And the hazelnut raisin bread…well, a slice in the morning with a pat of butter dulls the haze of sleeping in 2 hour increments. For the lasagna, I followed a recipe from VeganYumYum, and I didn’t make very many changes. You can find the recipe here. It’s a noodle-less lasagna (yes, as in no noodles) so perhaps it’s more accurately described as a casserole. No matter what you call it, it’s layers of chewy bread soaked in a garlicky tomato marinara sauce, velvety eggplant with slightly charred skin and melty mozzarella cheese. We didn’t even miss the noodles.

In case you’re interested, here are the changes that I made:

Sauce – I sauteed green chili peppers and fresh basil with the garlic. As an afterthought, I added a few shakes of crushed red chili pepper flakes for added back heat. Rajat pointed out that a little sprinkle of sugar might have been good to cut the tartness of the tomatoes.
Eggplant – As you can see from the photos, I didn’t peel the eggplants. I happen to like the taste and texture of the skin. Also my mom has drilled into my head that many of the nutrients are in the skin.
Bread – I sprayed the bread slices with olive oil spray, showered them with salt and broiled for about 5 minutes. Pan frying is perhaps tastier, but I didn’t have time. I haven’t had it the other way, but broiling the bread turned out really well. Also, I used a loaf of French Country Bread because I couldn’t get sourdough.
Cheese – I de-veganized the lasagna by adding cheese. Lasagna without noodles is good and well, but I need cheese.
Cooking – At the end of baking the lasagna, I drizzled a little olive oil over the top and broiled it for a few minutes until the tomatoes looked wilted and the breadcrumbs were toasted.

One of the things I loved about this recipe is that it came together easily. Once you prep the eggplant and get it into the oven, you’ve finished with the most time intensive part. Yet, it looks incredibly elaborate. I made this in 10-15 minute snippets that I stole between Surya’s 15 and 30 minute naps. And the best part is that the leftovers reheat well.

I just got a review copy of Vegan Yum Yum: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-Free Recipes for Entertaining and Everyday, a cookbook by Lolo, the author behind VeganYumYum,. After trying her Bread and Eggplant recipe, I’m excited to try out some recipes in the cookbook. Check back for a review of the cookbook coming soon.

Vegetable Bhaji (Spicy Tempura) with Mint Chutney

nithya — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:58:54 +0000

Bhaji is basically Indian tempura – vegetables battered in a spicy flour coating, deep fried and served piping hot straight out of the oil, slightly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. In our house, bhaji was the late afternoon snack of particularly lazy Saturday afternoons following a nap. Bhaji was the pre-dinner treat that my mom would have waiting when I came home for weekend visits from college. Rainy day comforts. Winter blues chasers. Family get together indulgences. Bhaji still reminds me of those times at home and manages to conjure warm feelings of comfort and goodness. It seems silly to think that such a simple food could have such effect, no?

Bhajis
~makes about 20-25 pieces~

Grocery:
2 cups gram flour
1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup fine cornmeal*
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled
1 white onion
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into small florets

Masala Rack:
2 tspn. salt (more to taste as needed)
1 tspn. lal mirch

Staples:
For dipping: Ketchup, Coriander Chutney or Mint Chutney

*Cornmeal is optional. My mom had the idea to add this to the batter after we had really good bhaji somewhere…maybe Chennai Garden in NY. I tried it and it turned out nicely because it gives a nice, thick and crunchy coating. But it’s not required.

Preparing the Batter:
1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all of the flours. Mix in the lal mirch and salt.
2. Add water – add 1 cup of water first and mix. Add more water as needed until the batter has a pancake like consistency. The batter should not be very thin. If it is too thin, add more flour.
3. Taste the batter to make sure there is enough lal mirch and salt.

Preparing the Veggies:
1. Peel the potato and cut them into 1/4 inch thick slices.
2. Cut the onion down the middle and cut into thin slices.
3. Cut the cauliflower into small florets.

Making the Bhaji:
1. Heat enough oil (I used canola) in a deep skillet to deep fry the bhajis on medium-low to medium-high heat.
2. When the oil is hot, drop a handful of the veggies into the batter. Take one veggie, make sure it is well coated and then remove it from the batter holding holding the veggie piece upright so the excess batter drips off towards your hand. My mom taught me this trick. It keeps the bhaji from developing “tails” or long pieces of batter dripping off the side (like a tail). Although she confessed to me that she really like the tails b/c they get nice and extra crunchy. I’m inclined to agree that I like tails.
3. Gently roll/drop the bhaji into the oil and fry until golden. You may need to turn the bhaji over if the oil is not deep enough.
4. Enjoy while hot with ketchup and mint or coriander chutney.

There are a lot of different variations for bhaji. My favorite veggies for bhaji are cauliflower, eggplant, potato and onions, and Rajat really likes paneer bhaji. We made a fresh bowl of mint chutney for our bhaji and the fresh zing of mint really hit spot.

Maybe someone out there can settle a little point of disagreement between me and Rajat – are bhaji and pakoras the same thing or different? I say different. Bhajis are battered vegetables and pakoras are deep fried, crispy dough bundles. He says they are the same thing.

Battering the bhaji – no tails!

Deep frying the bhaji until golden

Fresh mint chutney with peanuts and cilantro

Update: Also, on the topic of bhajis, one of my favorite food blog sites, Serious Eats just recently had this post about the UK ‘s Walkers’ onion bhaji potato chips. I would love to get my hands on a bag of those (or Lay’s Masala or Pudina flavored chips…which I think are only available in India) to eat with some rasam and rice. Mmmm.