Anna's Masala Kitchen: Aubergines

Showing posts with label Aubergines. Show all posts

Dahi baingan! Fried aubergines (baingan) are layered with whisked yoghurt (dahi) and a spicy tomato masala tempered with panch phoron for a delicious tang. A perfect side dish and ready within 20-30 minutes. This was all for me as Yogesh doesn’t like this kind of stuff, but I happily ate all it! Ever since discovering the spice blend panch phoron I have been making all sorts of dishes with it. I've also been using it in chutneys and it really brings a delicious taste to any final dish. I particularly love using it with vegetables like aubergines, bhindi or potatoes. If you love aubergines then you will love this dish. You can serve it hot or cold - I personally prefer to have it when the tomato masala is warm!

Ingredients
Serves 2-3

1 large aubergine
2 large tomatoes finely diced
1 medium sized onion finely diced
Small piece of ginger finely chopped
1/2 green chilli finely chopped

2-3 garlic cloves finely chopped
Yoghurt as required (I used around 150ml)
Vegetable oil as required
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander to garnish

You'll need these spices
1 tsp panch phoron (Bengali Indian five spice mix)
1/2 tsp kashmir red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander powder

Method

Top and tail the aubergine and slice into thin circles. Heat a few tbsp of oil in a non-stick frying pan. Fry the aubergines in a single layer until golden and cooked through. Make sure to cook the aubergine slices on both sides. Add more oil if required, aubergines are like sponges and will absorb the oil. When the aubergine slices are soft and golden on both sides, set them aside on a plate.
Next, make the tomato masala. In the same pan you fried the aubergines in, add another tbsp of oil (or less depending on how much oil is left in the pan after cooking the aubergines). Once hot, add the panch phoron and let the spices sizzle.
Next, add the chopped onion and saute until translucent. Add the chopped ginger, garlic and green chilli and saute for a few minutes until the raw aroma goes away.
Add the chopped tomatoes and saute until they are completely soft and when you see oil releasing from the sides of the mixture. Follow with the remaining spices and add salt to taste. Saute for a few more minutes and then turn of the heat.
Now start layering! In a bowl or suitable serving dish, spread over a thin layer of yoghurt (around 1 tbsp). Follow with around a third of the aubergine slices (or enough to cover your serving dish). Next, spread over a thin layer of the tomato masala (around 1 tbsp).
Repeat the layering of yoghurt-aubergine-masala until all the ingredients are finished. I like to finish the dish with yoghurt on top so make sure you save a little for the end. I ended up having quite a lot of layers as I used a small bowl. If you have a bigger dish, you will have fewer layers.
Finally, garnish the dish with a sprinkling of coriander leaves and enjoy!

Dahi baingan

by Anna Bolhuis on January 05, 2022

Dahi baingan! Fried aubergines (baingan) are layered with whisked yoghurt (dahi) and a spicy tomato masala tempered with panch phoron for a...

This is a delicious aubergine dish is popular in Northern India, particularly in Punjabi households. The aubergine is cooked over an open flame which infuses the dish with a delicious smoky flavour. The aubergine is then mashed and then added to spiced tomatoes and peas. Baingan = aubergines and bharta = mashed! This dish is best served with Indian flatbreads like roti or paratha. Have alongside some dal tadka and rice or rotis as well for a comforting meal. I know quite a few people who don't like aubergines but give them this dish and they'll be converted! The mashed aubergines act as a delicious carrier of flavours and absorb all the delicious spices beautifully. This recipe serves 4 and is adapted fom Monisha Bharadwaj ndian Cookery Course cookbook.

Ingredients
1 large aubergine
2 fresh tomatoes, finely diced
1/2 tbsp tomato puree (I add this for an even more tomato flavour)
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 medium red or white onion, finely chopped
Thumb size piece of ginger, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil
Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

You'll need these spices
1/2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds

Method

Without piercing or making slits, cook the aubergine directly over an open flame until soft. To ensure even cooking, turn the aubergine every now and again. The cooking process should take around 8-10 minutes on a medium heat. This cooking process will cause some smoking to happen to make sure a window is open or your extrator fan is on full.

By the time the aubergine is finished cooking, the skin should be crispy and the aubergine flesh really soft. You should be able to put a knife through the aubergine without any resistance. Leave the aubergine to cool down slightly, and then peel off the skin and trim off the stalk. Mash the flesh in a bowl and then set aside whilst you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Take a large sauté or frying pan and add a good glug of vegetable oil. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Next, add the ginger, garlic and chilli and sauté for a few minutes to release the raw aroma.
Add the fresh tomatoes and tomato puree and let reduce for a few minutes. Add a splash water if it catches on the bottom of the pan.
Next, add the remaining spices and mix well. Cook for one minute, adding another splash water if required. Add the mashed aubergine and mix well. Add the frozen peas and let cook on a medium heat for around 5 minutes until the peas are cooked through.
Season with salt as per taste, garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with rotis, steamed rice and dal!

Recipe notes
For a variation I sometimes also like to add peas! This gives the dish a nice pop of colour and some extra vitamins!

Baingan bharta | creamy spiced aubergines

by Anna Bolhuis on October 10, 2021

This is a delicious aubergine dish is popular in Northern India, particularly in Punjabi households. The aubergine is cooked over an open fl...

This one-pot pressure cooker sambar is my go-to recipe. It couldn't be more simple. I cook everything in the pressure cooker, and leave it to do its thing! You only have to bear a few things in mind and you will have a delicious veggie lentil dish to enjoy with vada, idlis or dosas. I love to add aubergines, carrots, beans and tomatoes to my sambar. I have another recipe on my blog for a more traditional sambar (cooking the veggies & lentils seperately). I also explain there what all the components of a good sambar should be - check it out here!

As we cook the lentils and veggies together in the pressure cooker, we also want to make sure that they cook at the same rate. As lentils take longer to cook than the veggies, the chance of the veggies becoming mushy is quite high. This is why it is important to soak the toor beforehand for at least 1hr. This means that the lentils cook at the same rate as the veggies. This result is beautifully cooked veggies and soft lentils! Furthermore, you can use fresh tamarind pulp or tamarind paste for this recipe. I use tamarind paste to make this recipe even quicker. I do finish off the recipe though with a delicious tadka of ghee!

Ingredients
Serves 4-5

1/2 cup / 100g toor dal soaked for 1hr in warm water
1/2 large aubergine cut into chunks
Handful beans (around 10) cut into pieces
1 large red onion sliced
2 medium carrots cut into bitesize chunks
2 tomatoes cut into quarters
1 heaped tsp tamarind paste

Small piece of jaggery or 2 tsp powdered jaggery

Water, as required
Salt to taste

Ghee, as required
Vegetable oil, as required
Coriander leaves, to garnish

You'll need these spices
1 tbsp sambar powder
1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
Small handful curry leaves
2 broken dried red chillies or dried kashmiri chillies

Method

In a large pressure cooker on medium heat, add a splash vegetable oil. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
Next, add the onion and saute until translucent.
Next, add the beans, aubergine, carrots and tomatoes. Saute for a few minutes until softened (don't cook them too much, otherwise they will overcook during the pressure cooking). You just want to cook them enough so they take on a bit of flavour.
Add the soaked toor dal and mix. Top up with water (around 2.5 cups / 625 ml) and mix well. Season with salt to taste.
Let the come to the boil and bubble on a medium heat. Seal the pressure cooker and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
Let the pressure release naturally and then check the consistency of the sambar. I added around another 1/2 cup (125ml) - 3/4 cup of water to adjust it to my preferences.
Put the heat to low and let the sambar simmer. Add the sambar powder and kashmiri red chilli powder and mix well. Next, add the tamarind paste and jaggery and mix well.
To finish of the sambar, make the tadka. Take a small pan and heat around 1/2 tbsp of ghee. Once hot, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Add the curry leaves and red chillies and fry for a minute.
Pour the hot tadka into the simmering sambar and mix well. Finish of the sambar with some coriander leaves.
Serve sambar hot with dosas, idlis or vadas!

One-pot pressure cooker sambar

by Anna Bolhuis on June 19, 2021

This one-pot pressure cooker sambar is my go-to recipe. It couldn't be more simple. I cook everything in the pressure cooker, and leave ...

Brinjal or aubergine fry is a quick and easy side dish to make! Fritters which have been made from vegetables are called phodi in Konkani and this dish originates from the Konkan region of India. For this recipe you will need the large variety of aubergines (the same one you would use to make baingan bharta with). This is because you need large round slices. Also, the smaller aubergines tend to have more seeds which is not ideal for this recipe.

In this dish. the aubergine slices and coated with spices and then coated again with a mixture of semolina & rice flour. The slices are then pan fried until the outside is crispy, but the inside remains soft. This results in a delicious side dish which is perfect to have with rice and dal.

Ingredients
Serves 4 (as a side dish)

1 large aubergine, cut into thin slices and soaked in warm water for 15 minutes

Vegetable oil, as required
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup / 100g semolina (rava)
1/2 tbsp rice flour

You'll need these spices
1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp garam masala
12 tsp amchur (dried mango powder) Amchur balances out the soft & slightly sweet taste of the aubergines
Pinch asafoetida

Method
Marinating time - 15 minutes, cook time - 15 minutes

In a large bowl, add the aubergine slices (which have soaked in warm water for 15 minutes), and all the spices & salt. Coat each aubergine slice with the spices. You can leave the slices to marinate for around 15 minutes if you like, but this is not essential.
Mix together the rice flour and semolina on a plate. Place an aubergine slice in the mixture and coat each side with a thin layer of semolina & rice flour. Also, take pan and heat a thin layer of oil.
Add the coated aubergine slice to the pan, then coat the remaining slices one by one and place in the pan. I like to place the aubergine slices in a clockwise manner so I know which aubergine slice I put in the pan first. Fry the aubergine slices until golden brown.
Flip the aubergine slices and fry the other side until golden.
Once golden, remove and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with any remaining aubergine slices, adding more oil in the pan if required.
Serve brinjal fry with dalitoy & rice. You can also serve them with neer dosa & sambar

Brinjal fry | brinjal phodi

by Anna Bolhuis on May 23, 2021

Brinjal or aubergine fry is a quick and easy side dish to make! Fritters which have been made from vegetables are called phodi in Konkani an...

This classic Middle Eastern dip is a true winner! I had an aubergine lying in the fridge for a while and I was really unsure of what to do with it. Normally I always have some dishes to make with aubergines (as they are one of my favourite vegetables!) but this time I just didn't have that much inspiration. Then I had a light bulb moment with this baba ganoush. We have a market every Saturday close by with some delicious middle eastern stalls. There is this saffron alioli which is just delicious and I'd love to have a go at making. This time I got some Lebanese bread and then made this to have alongside this baba ganoush.

To achieve a smoky flavour in the baba ganoush, I cooked the aubergine directly over the flame (exactly the same as how you would start of making baingan bharta - a Punjabi dish made with mashed aubergine, tomato and spices). I love this method of cooking aubergines as it lends a lovely smoky flavour to the final dish and takes much less time that grilling in the oven. The only downside is it can leave your hob a bit of mess, so my recommendation would be to line the hob with foil beforehand. But it is more cost-effective as you don't have to turn on the oven just to grill your aubergines, which can be a bit wasteful in my opinion.

This baba ganoush is

A delicious dip to have with bread & vegetable crudets
Takes no more than 20 minutes to put together
Can be scaled up on down depending on how many people you are serving

Ingredients

1 large aubergine
2 garlic cloves you can add more or less depending if you like garlic
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp tahini you can add more if you like the taste of tahini

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling over the top
Large handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
Pinch chilli powder

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Firstly, create a few slits in the aubergine before cooking
Cook the aubergine directly over an open flame on medium heat. To ensure even cooking, turn the aubergine every now and again. Also ensure that every part of the aubergine is cooked by the flame. The cooking process should take around 10 minutes on a medium heat. This cooking process will cause some smoking to happen to make sure a window is open or your extractor fan is on full.
By the time the aubergines has finished cooking, the skin should be crispy and the aubergine flesh really soft. There should also be a smoky smell coming from the aubergine, and you should be able to put a knife through the aubergine without any resistance.
Leave the aubergine to cool down slightly before peeling off the skin and removing the stalk.
Next, transfer the aubergine to a food processor (or bowl if mashing by hand).
Also add the lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, cumin powder, pinch chilli powder and the parsley to the food processor. Also add salt & pepper to taste. Blend until smooth. Give the baba ganoush a taste and see if you would like more lemon, tahini or salt and pepper.
Once you have adjusted the baba ganoush according to your preferences, transfer to a dish or bowl to serve in. Drizzle over a little more olive oil and garnish with a few parsley leaves.
Serve baba ganoush with vegetable crudets or soft flatbreads!