that eggplant recipe

I'm not sure what to think when the requested recipe from a dinner is one of the side dishes! Anyway, the eggplant recipe comes from the fantastic "50 Great Curries of India" by Camellia Panjabi, published by Kyle Cathie, London, 1995 (ISBN 1856263517). I can't rave about this book enough. Definitely one of my top 5 cookbooks.

The recipe was for baby eggplants but I didnt have any so I just sliced up some big ones.

Mix together the following:
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp dried mango powder (amchoor) - which I didnt have at the time but have bought since at "Herbicious Delicious" in Olinda where I ran into Rod and Lyn...
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Mix the spices together and roll the eggplant in it and fry in oil.

I actually used very little oil and a cast-iron frypan. Just enough oil for the sugar to caramelise a bit.

In the original recipe, you put slits in the bay eggplants and stuff the spice mix into the slits. Then fry them covered over low heat for 15 mins. I think my way is better.

It's called "Masala Baingan". Brilliant!

Just go and buy the book. It features a range of regional Indian recipes, inluding vegetables, various breads, spice mixes, etc.

Comments

[cheryl]

i thought about cooking it tonight for us in washington dc, because i'm staying at someone's house and had access to frying pans and all, but we decided to buy take away indian instead.

chicago tomorrow.

i'm having so much fun.

oh, and learning lots too.

[Cycling Chef]

We are cooking our way through "50 Great Curries of India." As of Feb. 2012 we have cooked 27, but we haven't tried this one yet. Only a few of our finished dishes have looked like the beautiful photos in the book, but most have turned out delicious! Check out our tasting notes of the curries we have cooked so far on the "50 Curries Project" page of my blog: Cycling Chef in the VeloKitchen. Look forward to your comments!