Brinjal Bhaji (Eggplant with Indian spices)

Author: rovingI Status: published license cc-by tags: recipe, cooking, food, tasty, hungry, spices, indian, eggplant, spicy, hot, 0   Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Eggplant bhaji is a simple and healthy dish popular in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is normally served with hot chapati (flat, unleavened bread).
Ingredients
Eggplant (aubergine)=============1 (long & purple)
Potato=========================1 medium size
Turmeric powder (haldi)===========1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder (hot)============1/2 tsp (optional)
Corriander powder===============1/2 tsp (optional)
Garam masala (curry powder)=======1 tsp
Sambar powder===============1/2 tsp (optional)
Ginger (fresh)===================1/2 inch piece
Mustard seeds==================1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds==================1/2 tsp
Shallots (small onion)===========4
Vegetable oil====================2 tbsp
Curry leaves====================1 sprig
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All these ingredients are available at any Indian store (some supermarkets e.g. Tescos also stock ingredients for Indian cooking now)

Method
1. Wash the eggplant and chop into cubes (remove the stalk, cut lengthwise and chop)
2. Soak the chopped eggplant in salty water (add a few pinches of salt to the water)
3. Peel the potato and cut into cubes.
4. Remove the skin of the shallots and cut into four pieces each.
5. Chop the ginger finely.
6. Heat 2 table spoons of vegetable oil (olive / sunflower etc.) in a pan on high heat. Add the mustard & cumin seeds and let them crackle for a few seconds. Add the turmeric powder and stir. Add the chopped ginger and curry leaves. Stir and fry for ~10 seconds.
7. Add the cubed potato and fry for ~5 min stir periodically.
8. Add the shallots and stir. Fry for another 5 min stirring periodically
9. Drain the water that the chopped eggplant was soaked in and add it to the pan.
10. Add the chilli powder, corriander powder, sambar powder and curry powder. Stir well to ensure that the spices are spread over the vegetables.
11. Cover and cook on medium heat stirring periodically until the potatoes are soft & the eggplant is done.
12. Serve with hot chapati.

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