Grilled aubergine with bell peppers and cheese

I love brinjals, but the kids not so much. They do, however, tolerate the vegetable if it is called by its more fancy name of aubergine. I bought these thin brinjals for myself, but when I also saw the colourful bell peppers, I decided to make a dish for all of us. And believe me, aubergines never disappeared as fast!

250 gms aubergines/  brinjal
1 1/2 bell peppers
2 tbsp basill
4 tbsp feta cheese
4-6 garlic cloves
Olive oil for dousing
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Smash the garlic cloves, add 2 tbsp olive oil, and let it seep for 5 minutes
Meanwhile, chop the brinjals into cubes (or discs), and the bell peppers into inch squares.
Toss the chopped vegetables in olive oil, adding salt and pepper to taste. Allow it to marinate for at least 1 hour. Tear the basil leaves and toss in.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Grease a baking tray and arrange the vegetables on it. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring once to ensure all parts are well done. Remove from the oven.
Crumble the feta cheese and sprinkle over the vegetables.
Serve with garlic bread.

Oil free brinjal curry

Most people do not like baigan, and for a very long time, I was one of them. But even now, one of the things I have against baigan is the amount of oil it normally consumes. So I just had to try out this recipe which promised to use no oil, if only to see if it was even possible. And it was!!!!

With the mix of peanut, coconut, tamarind and curry leaves, it was almost reminiscent of a Konkan fish curry. Literally fingerlickingly good! And oil free to boot (how many more times am I going to say that?)

500 gms Brinjal*

For stuffing

1 cup peanuts

1/2 cup grated coconut

2 red chillies

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp urad dal

1 tsp haldi powder

Salt to taste

1 lime sized ball tamarind

1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

Roast the peanuts till slightly brown. 

Add jeera, dhania, red chilli, urad dal, and roast till urad dal is browned

Add coconut and roast till brown

Dry grind the mixture. Add the spices and salt and mix well

Slit the brinjal s crosswise, keeping the stems intact. Stuff with the mixture- you will not use all the masala, keep the rest aside. 

Place on a steamer and cook for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup water, soak the tamarind and remove the pulp.

Boil 1/2 cup water, add the tamarind water, the ground masala, and curry leaves. Bring to boil. 

Add the brinjals, reduce flame, cover and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. 

Serve with rotis or rice. 

* you can use any variety except the fat ones used for bharta. I used 250 gms of brinjal, and kept half the masala aside for another day. 

Brinjal in peanut gravy

I love brinjal, and though my love is not shared by my family, I never tire of trying out new recipes. I got this one from a site which caters to recipes with little or no oil, but since my steamer is still missing, I ended up frying it. As far as I'm concerned, with peanuts and brinjal, you can't go too wrong. This recipe is proof of it.

Baby baingan - 12  nos

For stuffing:

1 cup peanuts

1/2 cup grated coconut

2 red chillies

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp urad dal

A few curry leaves

1 tsp haldi powder

1 tsp amchur powder

Salt to taste

1 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

Roast the peanuts till slightly brown. 

Add jeera, dhania, red chilli, urad dal, and roast till urad dal is browned

Add coconut and roast till brown

Dry grind he mixture. Add the spices and salt and mix well

Slit the brinjal s crosswise, keeping the stems intact. Stuff with the mixture.

Heat the oil, add curry leaves, and stuffed brinjal and saute for 5 minutes. 

Add the remaining masala, and sufficient water to cover the brinjals. Being to boil, cover, reduce the flame and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. 

Serve hot with roti or rice. 

Cheesy Simple Eggplant Casserole

I wanted to make my  mother's chessy eggplant casserole, but wanted something slightly lighter as a concession to the heat. I replaced the tomato paste with sliced tomatoes, and it got polished off in no time at all.

1 egg plant, sliced into thin circles

2 tbsp besan
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Cooking oil for shallow frying

2 tomatoes diced
3 tbsp grated cheese

Method:
Coat the eggplant slices with salt, keep aside for a few minutes, and squeeze out the juice.
Cover with a mixture of besan, red chilli powder, and shallow fry on a low flame till done.
Place a layer of eggplant slices on a baking tray. Place a layer to tomato slices over the eggplant, and drizzle with olive oil and cheese. Keep layering till all the eggplant slices are used up, and finish with a thick layer of cheese.
Bake for 5 minutes, till the cheese is well melted.

Cheesy Eggplant Casserole

My mother was a great one for trying out recipes that she read in magazines, and one of my favourite was an eggplant casserole that she got from a Thanksgiving special feature where an American lady cooks for the Indian family she married into. By trial and error, I figured out what went into the recipe, and this is the first time I have made it for my family.

1 egg plant, sliced into thin circles

2 tbsp besan
1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste
Cooking oil for shallow frying

2 tomatoes, chopped into coarse pieces
6 pods garlic
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chilli flakes
salt to taste
sugar to taste

3 tbsp grated cheese

Method:
Coat the eggplant slices with salt, keep aside for a few minutes, and squeeze out the juice.
Cover with a mixture of besan, red chilli powder, and shallow fry on a low flame till done.
Heat the oil, add garlic and saute till it starts browning.
Add chopped tomatoes, oregano, chilli flakes, salt and sugar, and saute till the tomatoes turn mushy.
Place a layer of eggplant slices on a baking tray. Pour some of the tomato paste over it, and sprinkle a layer of cheese. Keep layering till all the eggplant slices are used up, and finish with a layer of tomato paste and a thick layer of cheese.
Bake for 5 minutes, till the cheese is well melted.

Eggplant tomato casserole

My mother used to make an eggplant casserole which was one of my favourite dishes. Somewhere along the line, she misplaced the recipe, after which I embarked on a quest to hunt it down. I finally found what I was looking for at a restaurant in Delhi, and everytime we went there, I insisted on ordering that dish and no other. Now that I am a reasonably confident cook, I know I can re-create the dish anytime (and I will do so soon), so the next phase begins- experimenting with the classic dish.

This is a desi version of my favourite eggplant casserole, and is every bit as lovely as the original.

1 egg plant, sliced into thin circles

2 tbsp besan
1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

Cooking oil for shallow frying
2 tomatoes, chopped into coarse pieces
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3- 4 pods garlic
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
pinch of hing
salt to taste
1 tbsp cooking oil

Sour cream for garnish

Method:
Coat the eggplant slices with salt, keep aside for a few minutes, and squeeze out the juice.
Cover with a mixture of besan, red chilli powder, and shallow fry on a low flame till done.
Heat the oil, temper with mustard seeds. Add garlic and onions and saute till it turns transparent. Add tomatoes and curry leaves, and cook till it turns mushy.
Add hing, salt and red chilli powder, and saute for a few minutes.
Place a layer of eggplant slices on a baking tray. Pour some of the tomato paste over it. Keep layering till all the eggplant slices are used up, and finish with a layer of tomato paste.
Bake for 2-3 minutes. Pour on the sour cream and serve.

Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce

This recipe is adapted from a classic recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi. It has been Indianised, and uses only the ingredients that are regularly found at home.

1 large purple baigan
1 tbsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

For the sauce:
1 cup curds
2 tbsp olive oil
2-4 pods garlic, crushed
Salt to taste

For garnish:
Mint leaves
3 tbsp pomegranate seeds

Method:
Dice the eggplant into 1/2 cm thick slices. Pat with garam masala powder and salt and let the flavours absorb for 10 minutes.
Heat a tawa, and shallow fry the eggplant slices. Keep aside
Meanwhile, whip the curds with the olive oil, crushed garlic and salt.
Arrange the eggplant slices on a serving dish, pour the buttermilk sauce over it, garnish with pomegranate seeds and mint and serve.

Stuffed brinjals in green tuvar gravy

This recipe was so different from anything I have tasted that it had me at hello. I just had to try it out to see what it was like, so when I bought half a kilogram of brinjals this week, I made sure to keep a few aside for trying out this dish.
What can I say about it? Except that it was different beyond expectations, and I loved it so much, I am definitely making it again soon.

1 cup tuvar dal soaked for 15-20 minutes
5-6 baby brinjals
3-4 baby potatoes

For ground masala
1 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
3-4 tbsp grated fresh coconut
1 tsp turmeric pwd
1 tbsp coriander pwd
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 green chilli
1 tsp red chilli pwd
a pinch hing

Cooking oil
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar (optional - I didn't add)

Method
Grind all the ingredients listed under ground masala to a smooth paste.
Slit the brinjals crosswise, and stuff with the ground masala.
In a pressure pan heat 2 tbsp oil add the stuffed brinjals and saute for 5 minutes , add the potatoes, soaked dal and the remaining masala and saute on  medium heat for 5 minutes. Add 1  1/2 cups water and pressure cook for 15 minutes.

Stuffed baigan

I've never gotten over my fascination for stuffed baigan, so when I saw this Gujarathi recipe, it was only a matter of time before I tried it out. To be honest, I wasn't sure how the combination of grated onions and peanuts would work, but my fears were without ground- even the hubby came back for seconds!

500 gms baby brinjals

1/2 cup roasted peanuts
2 large onions
2 large tomatoes
8 cloves of garlic
1 tsp kasoori methi
3 tbsps fresh corriander
2 tsps chilli powder
1 tsp dhania powder
1tsp jeera powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp amchur powder
½ tsp hing
Salt to taste
2 tbsps oil

Method:
Slit the brinjals (but leave the stems) enough for filling them and keep them aside.
Grind the rest of the ingredients into a fine paste.
Stuff the brinjals with the ground paste.
Heat the oil, and fry the remaining paste for about 5 minutes on a high flame stirring continuously.
Add the stuffed brinjals and stir for another 5 minutes.
Add a little water and cover and cook until the brinjals are done.
Taste for flavour and add any seasoning if needed.
Searve hot with rotis.

Baigan bharta

Though married to a Punjabi, I have never attempted to make Baigan bharta- not because I don't like it (because I do), or because hubby doesn't like it (he does too), but because I've never been too keen on cleaning up after making it. However, since I had decided that the kitchen needed a good scrubbing, it made sense to make this. Surprisingly, it didn't leave the kitchen in as much of a mess as I thought it would, so I am definitely making it again.

1 large baigan

1 medium onion

1 medium tomatoes

1/2 tsp ginger paste

1/2 tsp jeera

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

2 tbsp oil

salt to taste

Method

Coat the baigan with oil, and roast on a open flame turning every 2 minutes till the surface is well charred, and the smokey aroma fills the kitchen. Pop it in a bowl of water to cool, then peel off the charred skin, and mash the flesh.

Meanwhile, chop the onions and tomatoes.

Heat oil, add jeera, and once it stops spluttering add the onions and saute till transparent. Add ginger paste, tomatoes, chilli powder, and saute till tomatoes are well cooked. 

Add the mashed baigan and salt to taste, and saute for 4-5 minutes till well cooked.

Garnish with dhania patta and serve hot with rotis.

Borani Banjan

Some recipes you see and know you want to try out. Anshie Dhar's Borani Banjan was one of them. Eggplant, tomatoes and garlicy-yogurt; any wonder I was salivating just looking at the photograph.
Since my family doesn't particularly like eggplant, I halved the quantities, but I am certain I would have been able to eat it all even if I had stuck to the original recipe!

For Borani

2 medium eggplants
2 tsp oil for cooking ( more for brushing the eggplants if you are baking them)
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
½ tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp turmeric
Oil for frying ( you can also bake the eggplants)
1 tsp chopped garlic
½ tsp dried mint
Fresh mint for garnish


For the yogurt sauce
1 C yogurt
1 tsp finely grated garlic
2 tbs dried mint

Method:
Mix all the ingredients under yogurt sauce, and refrigerate

Cut the eggplants into ½ inch slices.
Sprinkle slices liberally with salt and leave them to ooze the water and then pat them dry. Brush slices with some olive oil and arrange on cookie sheets. Broil until lightly browned. About 3 minutes each side (the eggplants should remain slightly firm in the middle).
Put the 2 tsp oil in the pan and add in garlic, saute and then add tomatoes. Cook until they become mushy then add in the turmeric, coriander and chilli powder. Stir to combine and cook until the spices are well mixed in. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
Now arrange half of the eggplants (in the same pan ) to cover the surface of the pan.
Arrange the cooked tomatoes on top. Repeat with another layer of eggplant and the remaining tomatoes.
Add 1/4 cup water between the eggplant slices and cover with a tight lid.
Cook on low medium heat for about 20 minutes and check for doneness. You are looking for a soft texture but not a mush.
Put a layer of yogurt sauce on the serving dish. Top with the eggplant stacks, lifting each stack carefully. Top with the remainder of the yogurt.
Sprinkle the dried mint on top. Garnish with fresh mint leaves. Serve immediately, with naan.

Aubergine au gratin a.k.a. Baigan Busted

My bid to feed the kids at least one serving of "real" veggies everyday is being frustrated by the lack of veggies in the market. Instead of insipid 'baigan subji", I decided to make them "aubergine au gratin" yesterday. Kids loved the name, and took a really large bite, and then another.
"But Mamma", the Older One finally said, "this aubergine tastes exactly like baigan".
Busted

250 gms brinjal (mine were small ones), chopped into small pieces
1 packet sweet corn (will be about 1/3 cup, I guess)
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tbsp cornflour
salt, chilli flakes, oregano to taste (or any other herb you like)
Cheese- lots
Butter

Method

Saute the brinjal in butter (with a bit of salt), and when almost done, add the corn, and stir a bit more.
Heat milk, stir a bit of it into the cornflour to make a paste, and when the milk comes to a boil, add the cornflour, stir well, and cook for about 2 mins. Add salt, cheese and anything else you might want to add to the sauce, before pouring it over the baigan and corn.
Sprinkle grated cheese on top, and bake at 180 degrees for about 10 mins.

Chauli- baigan ki subji

Though I have often seen this green sitting side by side with the palaks and methis, I've never thought to try it out. Maybe it was because I didn't have a recipe, or maybe it was because I am not particularly adventurous when it comes to greens. But this remained one of the few greens I haven't ever gone near. Until the other day when I was at the vegetable vendor with a friend, and asked her how she cooked it. "With baigan", was her reply. Immediately intrigued, I forced the recipe out of her in bits and pieces, and made it a couple of days later. I loved it, and the kids tolerated it, which is saying quite a lot!

1 bunch chauli leaves, destemmed, washed and chopped 250 gms small brinjals, cut into eighths 4-5 pods of garlic 1 green chilli 1 tsp jeera 1/2 tsp haldi powder Mustard oil Salt and sugar to taste Method Heat the oil, and splutter the jeera seeds. Add chopped garlic and the green chilli and fry till the garlic browns. Add the brinjals, and fry till partially cooked Add the greens, salt, sugar and turmeric powder, and mix well. Cover the pan, and let it cook in its own steam till done

Masaledar Baigan

After you discount cauliflower, ladyfingers and the vegetables that nobody will even dream of eating, you are left with very few veggies to choose from. Which is why I keep returning to the good old purple vegetable, even though nobody (except me) is particularly fond of them.
I've got a bunch of recipes that I keep repeating, but today, I was feeling adventurous and invented one of my own. Slightly involved, but more than worth it.

500 gms baby brinjals
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 medium tomato chopped fine
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp whole dhania
2 tbsp grated coconut
3 tbsp raw peanuts
red chilli powder
turmeric powder
salt
cooking oil

Roast the peanuts and dhania separately till browned and keep aside to cool.
Wash the brinjals, remove the stalk, cut lengthwise, and fry till well browned. Drain on kitchen towel and keep aside.
Heat cooking oil, splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves and onions and fry till onions turn translucent. Add tomatoes and cook on a low flame till it starts getting mushy.
Meanwhile, dry grind the dhania, peanuts and grated coconut, and add it to the cooked paste and cook with stirring for a minute.
Add the fried brinjals, mix well, so they are all evenly coated. Cover the vessel, and let it cook in its own steam for about 5 minutes.
Serve hot with rotis.

Maharashtrian Vangi

This is a variation on the Maharashtrian bharela vangi- this has a slightly runny gravy so can be had with rice too.

Chotoo brinjals - 250 gms
Onion - 2 medium chopped
Tomato- 1 large chopped
Peanuts - 3 tbsp, roast, remove skin and crush lightly
Garlic - 4/ 6 pods
Jeera powder- 1 tsp
Dhania powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Salt- to taste
Cooking oil- 1 tsp

Wash the brinjals and pat dry. Cut lengthwise into quarters, coat with turmeric powder and salt and keep aside.
Heat the cooking oil, and fry the onions, garlic and tomatoes with the rest of the powders till the onion starts turning transparent.
Add the peanuts and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, till the onions and tomatoes are well cooked.
Add the stuffed baigan, mix well, and fry for about 2 minutes.
Add enough water to half cover the baigans, and let it cook on low heat till baigans are well done, and you get a slightly runny gravy.

Can be had with either rotis or rice.

Bagara Baingan

Got this recipe verbally from a friend, then modified it a bit by checking a couple of similar recipes on the internet. The dish looked more reddish than the picture does, and I actually wiped the dish clean with the last piece of roti.

Dry roast 2 tbsp white sesame seeds and 2 tbsp peanuts, and keep aside. When cool, grind with 2 tbsp grated coconut (and a bit of water) till you get a smooth paste.
Slit the long, slender brinjals (350 gms) lengthwise (making sure not to cut till the stem), and fry till they are soft, but don’t lose their shape. Keep aside.
Fry 1 onion, chopped fine and 2 tsp ginger garlic paste till the onion turns brownish. Add ground mixture and fry for a minute. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, jeera, coriander powder and salt. Mix well and fry for another minute.
Extract the juice from 1 lemon sized ball of tamarind, add to the masala and mix well. Add the brinjals and cook closed for about 10 minutes.
Garnish with freshttps://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3787758499767582637#editor/target=post;postID=6492327248501405989;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=11;src=linkh dhania patta before serving.

Odiya Doi Begun

My friend, MP grew up in Orissa, and of the Odiya dishes she's shared, the one I most wanted to make was this one. I finally got down to making it today, and loved it. 
Made a couple of changes from the original- no tempering (because nobody is too fond of it in any case), and I beat the curds with powdered, roasted jeera, the juice of an inch piece of ginger and salt.

Wash and pat the baingan dry and apply a bit of chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Deep fry the baingan and keep aside
Now beat dahi well with salt and keep aside
Heat oil. Put a tadka of the following
- mustard seeds
- curry leaves
- heeng (is not there in the original dish or my mom's version but I add because I like it)
- finely chopped ginger (some people put garlic, my mom puts ginger and I like the flavour of ginger in this dish)
- dry red chillies
- some broken green chillies if you want it more spicy

Now put the deep fried baingan in the dish. Pour dahi on top and then pour the tadka on top of everything. Before serving put some roast jeera powder on top if you wish. Remember no heating or cooking the dahi.

Aubergine bake

Adapted by mixing a bunch of recipes, including Mona's eggplant-keema, which I still intend trying out soon.

Take -
1 large eggplant
Cut into circles, sprinkle salt and keep it for 30 mins for the water to come out. Drizzle olive oil and grill for 2-3 mins.

Take -
1 large tomato chopped
1/2 medium onion chopped
4-6 pods garlic crushed
1 tsp oil
Cook the above with oregano, chilli pwd, salt (amount as per taste), till it becomes soft.
Add- 1 cup cooked soya nuggets, stir, and keep aside.

Arrange the grilled eggplant on a greased baking dish. Sprinkle salt and pepper, put a layer of soya mixture, sprinkle dried basil and parsley, grate cheese. Repeat with a second layer of eggplant slices.

I had some soya mixture left over, so coated a few fresh oregano leaves with oil, placed it on the dish, layered the soya mixture and cheese.

Pop it in the oven and bake till the cheese starts melting.

Best had with garlic bread.

Bharela-vangi

I end up making baigan at least once a week, and when I saw Roma Patel's peanut-baigan combination, I knew I had to try it out sometime. Modified her recipe a bit, but it sure tasted yummy as it is.

Roast and lightly crush a handful of peanuts.
Make a dry paste of crushed peanuts, grated coconut (about half the quantity of the peanuts), dhania powder, jeera powder, salt.
Slit the baigan into quarters and stuff half the dry paste into them.
Fry a few pods of crushed garlic and chopped green chilli. When the garlic is done, put in the rest of the dry paste and fry for about a minute. Put the stuffed baigan, add enough water to half cover the baigans, and let it cook on low heat till baigans are well done, and you get a slightly runny gravy.
To be had with rotis.

Baigan w/o onions

When the city came to a close over the weekend, all I had were a couple of chintu baigans, two tomatoes, no onions, no ginger, no green chillis, and limited spices. This is what the maid conjured up.

Dice baigans, fry and keep aside.
Cut 1 tomato into small pieces, fry with zeera, haldi powder, salt and sugar. When well done, add fried baigan, and enough besan to cover the whole thing. Sprinkle water on top, stir, cover and let it cook in own steam for 2-3 minutes.

Great with rotis.