Vankayya Kothmeera Karam - Andhra Speciality

This is a very popular recipe in Andhra Pradesh - the state I grew up in. I firmly believe that the best eggplant/brinjal/aubergine recipes in India come from Andhra Pradesh. This dish is called Vankayya Kothmeera Karam - literally translates to Brinjal Cilantro Spice. :) How can you go wrong?

Ingredients -

• Indian Eggplants/Brinjal/Aubergine (the small purple ones) - about 10 -  cubed. Tip - as you are cubing the eggplants, immerse the cubed pieces in a bowl of salted water. This prevents them from browning & turning bitter. Just drain and add to the wok when ready to cook.
• Turmeric/Haldi pdr - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Dry Red chillies - 2  - broken
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Fresh lime/lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Rough grind/chop finely-

• Cilantro - 1/2 cup
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Green Chillies - 3-5

Heat oil in a wok, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add jeera, curry leaves and dry red chillies.
When the jeera browns, add the cubed eggplants, haldi and salt. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes.
Once the eggplants are about 3/4th the way cooked, add the rough ground mixture of cilantro, ginger and green chillies. Stir thoroughly.
Cook uncovered for another 5 minutes until the eggplants are fully cooked through. Don't over cook the eggplant at any stage - you don't want this to be too soft/mushy.

Once cooked, take off the stove and add some fresh lime/lemon juice.
Serve hot with roti/rice. Enjoy! :) You can also use the same spice mixture with other veggies.

Spicy eggplant and pepper in black bean sauce

Spicy eggplant and pepper in black bean sauce a photo by moreMirchi on Flickr.

3 Asian eggplants
1 red pepper
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons chili bean paste, I got mine at Whole Foods
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Mirin or any rice wine
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
Cilantro, for garnish - scallions work well too

Slice each eggplant in half lengthwise, then slice each length into quarters. Similarly chop pepper into strips as well.

In a small bowl, mix together chicken stock, chili bean paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, rice wine, and sugar. Set aside.

Dry roast eggplant in a pan until the pieces start turning brown. This helps in making the eggplant less absorbant to oil.

In a wok, heat oil. Add eggplants, red pepper and stir-fry until outsides become golden brown and insides begin to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and ground red pepper and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Pour in stock-sauce mixture and mix well. Allow sauce to simmer for 2 minutes and eggplant to absorb sauce. Stir in cornstarch mixture to thicken sauce. Remove from heat, plate, and garnish.

Penne Pasta with Eggplant Puree

Tried Smitten Kitchen's rigatoni version with a few minor changes. It was hearty and unusual!

1 small eggplant, chopped into pieces

15 cherry tomatoes

5 pods garlic, whole

5-6 mint leaves

olive oil, 3 tbsp

crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tsp

ground black pepper, 1 tsp

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 lb penne pasta

Mix the chopped eggplant, cherry tomatoes, whole garlic cloves, pepper, red pepper flakes and salt with 1tbsp olive oil. Arrange on a tray and bake in oven for 35 mins at 350F. Let cool once done. When cooled, add this mix to a food processor along with the mint and 2tbsp olive oil. I added 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup milk (the cherry tomatoes were too sour for my liking) to make the paste smoother.

In a baking dish, roast the pine nuts at 350F for 5-6 mins.

Cook the penne pasta as per instructions on packet, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. When cooked, remove pasta from water and add the eggplant puree. Add the pine nuts and mix well. Taste for additional salt/ pepper. If you like it more saucy, add the 1/2 cup of pasta water. Serve immediately.

The eggplant and mint combination was unusual and went surprisingly well with the penne.

Baingan Bharta

This recipe uses minimal spices and really lets the smoky taste of the eggplant come through. We enjoyed it with naan.

Serves 4

1 large eggplant

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp yogurt

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

2 green chilli, chopped

10 strands of fresh cilantro, chopped fine

Over a high flame, roast the eggplant by turning it every 3-4 minutes. You will start noticing that the skin slowly starts burning and may split in some places. Roast it evenly and set aside. When cooled, remove the skin and chop the eggplant into pieces. It should already be a little mushy from the roasting.

In a shallow pan, heat oil and add the onions. Brown onions and then add the ginger-garlic paste. Fry for 3-4 minutes, and then add the cut green chillies. Fry for another 2 minutes. Now add the chopped tomatoes and cilantro and cook till tomatoes disintegrate. It took about 10 minutes to be completely soft. At this time add the chopped and roasted eggplant and mix well. Add salt to taste and 2 tbsp yogurt. Cook covered for 10 minutes or until eggplant is completely cooked and mushy. Serve hot!

Roasted ratatouille pasta

Another one of my weeknight creations reeking of impatience :) I love that I can chop up a bunch of veggies, stick them into the oven with salt and pepper and dinner's ready!

Serves 3

1 large eggplant, cubed into 1/2" pieces

1 large red onion, cubed into 1/2" pieces

1 can of diced tomatoes strained - save atleast 1/3 cup of juice

Crushed red pepper

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tsps of fresh thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsps of olive oil

1 1/2 cups of pasta

1. Preheat oven to 375 deg.
2. Mix all the ingredients except the pasta in a 9x13" baking dish.
3. Bake for 45 mins until veggies are completely cooked.
4. 5 mins before done - cook the pasta in 2 cups of salted water and reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water.
5. Mix the pasta into the eggplant mix and add the pasta water if more sauce is required. Stir to combine.
6. Garnish with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Eggplant, Leeks and Zucchini white lasagna

I made this lasagna for our supper club meet, theme: Italian. It turned out really good and it was all gone by the end of the night - always a good sign :)

Original recipe: Whole Foods recipe - Eggplant and Artichoke white lasagna

Serves 4

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 leeks, white and green parts chopped
Salt to taste
1 medium eggplant sliced into 1/2 inch. thick slices
2 medium zucchinis sliced
6-8 dried lasagna noodles

For the sauce:
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsps all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low fat milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan reggiano
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

you can reduce the parmesan reggiano and mozzarella cheeses and substitute with leftover cheese wedges you'dlike to get rid of. Balance the flavors, so if you choose a sharper cheese like cheddar then balance it with extra goat cheese and mozzarella.

Preheat oven to 375deg. Heat oil and add garlic, leeks and salt. Cook until leeks are light brown about 5mins. Set the leeks aside.

Pour enough oil in a skillet until it is 1/4 in. deep. Add sliced eggplant in batches and fry until they are lightly browned. Drain on a plate covered with paper towels to absorb the oil. Sprinkle salt on both sides of the fried eggplants.

Cook lasagna noodles as per instructions on the package. Drain and set aside.

For the sauce, melt butter over medium heat.Whisk in flour and cook, stirring continously for about 30 sec. Slowly stream in milk and keep stirring until its well mixed. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens in about 3-4 mins. Add 2 tbsps of parmesan reggiano, goat cheese, salt, pepper and reserved leeks. Stir quickly and remove from heat. Continue stirring until the cheese melts and set aside.

Apply a light coating of oil in a 8-inch baking dish and spread 1/4 cup of sauce.Top with a layer of noodles. Layer with half the leeks, eggplants and zucchini, 1/2 cup sauce, and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat until you go through all the ingredients. Top with remaining sauce, parmesan reggiano and mozzarella.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 mins. Then uncover and bake for 5mins. Let lasagna rest and cool for 5 mins after baking. Slice and serve.

Poori Bhaji

V's Nani (maternal grandmother) made this dish for us in Delhi. It's one of those dishes that reminded me of Gujarati food with a bit of sweet and spice in it - made me feel at home. Even though enjoyed best with puris, V and I opted for healthier naans.
Serves 4

1 1/2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into cubes
3 medium eggplants cubed
1 tbsp of panch puran seeds (5 seed mix) - mix equal amounts of onions (nigella) seeds, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, fennel seeds and cumin seeds
1 tsp onion seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 med. onion chopped
1 heaping tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Heat 2 tbsp of oil and add the seeds (panch puran mix, onion seeds and fenugreek seeds). Toast for 1 min. Add onions with salt and cook until they are bright purple in color, about 5 mins. Add coriander powder, chilli and turmeric. Stir to mix and add 2 tbsp of water so that the spices don't stick. Add eggplant, sweet potatoes, salt to taste and 3-4 tbsp of water. Cover the pot and cook over low flame until sweet potatoes are tender (~10 mins).