Fiery Charred Szechuan-inspired Eggplant

It is no secret that I love eggplant. I may not make eggplant dishes every day, but, when it is in season, I bring home as many varieties as I can find at the market, plus I grow my own favorites in the garden every year when it gets warm enough in these parts: Ichiban, Black beauty, Cloud Nine, Casper, and some heirloom varieties that I can find.

Any variety will be fine for this recipe. The sauce glaze is fairly standard as well. The extra step that boosts this recipe is the initial brining, and then charring over open flame a bit before braising in the sauce.

Ingredients
Brine: ¼ cup salt in 4 cups water
1 medium globe eggplant, cut into thick pieces lengthwise

Sauce:
2 Tablespoon dry white wine
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp Zhenjiang vinegar
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp Nam Prik Pow if available, or Sambal oelek

Chopped Thai red chilies, sweet red bell peppers
4 to 6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

1. Soak the eggplant slices in brine while assembling the other ingredients, for about 15 minutes
2. Heat the sesame oil in a pot, add the garlic and chilies and peppers and saute till aromatic
3. Add the sauce ingredients and allow it to simmer
4. Remove eggplant from brine, pat dry and char it over over flame: I use my roti grill for flame roasting
5. Drop the charred/flame roasted eggplant in the simmering sauce, cover and allow to cook over low heat for slow braising
6. Remove the lid when eggplant is mostly done but still firm, not mushy, toss it well till sauce thickens
7. Serve warm with steamed rice

Smoked Eggplant Relish: Baingan Bartha

With texture similar to Baba Ghanouj, smokiness close to Chutta Kathrikkai Pachadi, and flavor that is rich and deep, Baingan (eggpant) Bartha is a side dish that takes center stage every time I make it.

The recipe here is tweaked to suit my taste: the masala paste can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Use it to make chicken curry or my favotire cauliflower korma.

Ingredients
2 long eggplant, roasted, finely chopped or mashed
¼ tsp Tamicon® tamarind paste
1 Tbsp sesame oil

Masala paste:
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp grated ginger
½ tsp poppy seeds (khus-khus from Indian stores)
1-inch piece Indian cinnamon bark
2 -3 dry red chilies
1 tsp coriander powder
1/3 cup stewed tomatoes
½ medium yellow onions, chopped

optional: tempering with cumin and mustard seeds

Preparation

1. Combine the ingredients for masala paste and blend to a fine smooth paste
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the masala paste, tamarind, mashed roasted eggplant, a pinch of salt, cover and allow to simmer over medium low heat
3. Add a few tablespoon of water as needed to continue simmering till flavors meld, about 20 minutes
4. Serve warm with naan or roti or basmati rice

Baba Ghanouj

I was going through my old photos again. I had skipped posting this one as it didn't capture the mouthwatering quality of the dish - it just looks like a dirty blob of goo in the photo... however, I decided to note down the recipe here while the taste of this dish, when I made it last, is still lingering in my memory...

We make this quite often at home, almost as often as my chutneys or salsas, so much so that D has gotten quite good at it that he whips it up usually without any constructive input/interference from me :)

While large fleshy eggplant is commonly used for this dish (and readily available in markets here), I found that Ichiban and Calliopes from my garden had a certain bold eggplant flavor that I liked.

Serve with pita chips or even simple rotis or dosai.

Ingredients
1-2 globe or black beauty or other large, soft fleshy eggplant
3-4 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 Tbsp lemon juice
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
1 tsp Hickory Smoke Flavoring liquid ^*
salt to taste

^* D uses this a lot in his cooking, so, we have it handy at home, and we love the smoky flavor... but this is definitely an optional ingredient

other optional items: cayenne pepper, paprika, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro (to taste)

Preparation

1. Slice the eggplant with the skin on, spray or brush some oil and either roast in a 375°F oven till tender, or, what I like to do is to char them a bit over open flame of my gas stove
2. allow to cool a bit; remove skin if you don't care for it - I like it, so, I leave it on
3. combine the eggplant with rest of the ingredients, a little at a time, in a blender/food processor, and pulse to desired dip texture/consistency; i like it a bit coarse, not smooth and silky
4. taste and adjust flavors;garnish with paprika, or cayenne pepper powder and sesame seeds

Chutta Kathrikkai pachadi - smoked aubergine relish

This is a little tedious to prepare, but, I find it well worth the effort. It is a South Indian dish usually served on the side with rice and Molagoottal (milagoottal, milagu kootal). But, I just enjoy it as the main dish accompanied by chapathi/roti or rice.

Ingredients
4-6 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
1-2 Tbsp brown sugar
1-2 dry red chilies crushed
salt to taste
2 Tbsp oil for tempering
1/2 cup water (more if you want the dish a bit runny)
5-6 curry leaves (murraya koeniigi) for garnish
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
a pinch each of of mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds for tempering
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced
about 3 medium calliopes (or any favorite eggplant variety), charred, as in picture below

Smoking or charring the eggplant is the best part of this recipe, the flavor is unmistakable. It is so much easier with a gas stove, now that I have it, and a steel wire roaster.

Slice the eggplant and make some slits on the cut side with a knife; brush the eggplant with some oil; hold it over the open flame and turn them around as needed so they get evenly charred and cooked inside.

Preparation

1. smoke or char the eggplants either over open fire or on a grill or in the broiler; set aside to cool a little
2. when cool enough to handle, roughly chop the charred eggplant; i like it chunky; but, you can also run it in the blender for a smoother texture
3. heat the oil in a pot, add the tempering; when mustard seeds splutter and die down, add the dry red chilies, asafoetida, and the chopped onions and sautee till onions turn translucent
4. then add eggplant, water, tamarind, brown sugar and salt to taste; stir well.
5. cover the pot and let it simmer on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes; stir as needed.
6. adjust the taste to your liking: i prefer it sour-and-sweet so i sort of adjust the tamarind and brown sugar till they seem balanced and to my liking :-)
7. garnish with curry leaves and cilantro; serve warm or cool, with chapathi, naan or rice.