Friday, August 11, 2006

Crispy Spicy Aubergine Slices

Now Brinjal or Aubergine, like it is stylishly called now a days even by people who have called it Brinjal all their lives ,is something that as a child I was forced to eat by my mother. She cooked it in all possible interesting ways but even then it was something that I dreaded eating.It made me go green in the face. One fine day she made these crispy brinjal slices and told me to imagine that I was eating fried fish(which was my favorite) and then eat them. But clever and smart (read over-smart) that I was , I asked her whether she would eat fried fish imagining that it was brinjal (she is a pure vegetarian) . My mother, if I remember correctly, just left the room. But that was then. Slowly as a teenager and later in my 20s I developed a liking for this vegetable though still not in all its forms. But it was only after my marriage when I ate similar slices made by my MiL that I really began loving this dish and now I prepare it quite often .Hope you guys like it too.


Simple Ingredients:

1 large brinjal sliced(1 brinjal makes about 8/9 slices), 1 cup chickpea flour (besan), 1 cup fine semolina, 2 tspn cumin-coriander powder mix, 1 tspn chilli powder, 2 tspn salt, 2 tspn powdered sugar, 1/2 tspn Hing (asafoetida), 1/2 tspn turmeric powder. Increase the spice and chilli level according to taste.

Procedure:

1. Slice the Brinjal into thick slices and drop them in a large bowl of lightly salted water. This will keep the brinjal from discolouring.

2.Mix all the above ingredients and check the taste. Add more salt or spices if needed.

3 Heat a tawa (Skillet) and coat it generously with oil.

4. Thickly coat the brinjal slices one at a time in the besan mixture and place on the tawa. Shallow fry only 4 slices at a time. Cover the slices with a lid so the brinjal cooks through and through. Turn them once over . Now do not cover. Remove them onto a plate. They are ready to eat. If making them for guests you can prepare them ahead and only pop them into a moderate oven for 5 mins before serving.

5. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve on a bed of crisp shredded cabbage leaves



9 comments:

Vaishali said...

...Aubergine, like it is stylishly called now a days even by people who have called it Brinjal all their lives...

Hahahahaha...I agree. I too am one of those *nouveau-stylish* people. Brinjal sounds too botanical to me. Just like 'capsicum'. 'Bell pepper' sounds more edible. ;-)

Btw, you were apparently not an easy child to raise. My heart goes out to your mother. :)

Unknown said...

Looks yummy but then, I'm not a brinjal or aubergine eater.

KA said...

Great looking bhajis! Great story too..
If I were in your place.. I can imagine getting a nice spanking from my mother after saying something like that..

Rajesh &Shankari said...

did your mother say, "u did not like it so much when I made it and now you rave abt your MIL's ". I can totally see my mother joking like that to me. Very bice recipe, thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

Hey Anupama,
I can totally understand your relationship with good ol' brinjal-you either love it or you hate it or allergic to it. I fall in the last category. Suprisingly roasting a baingan makes it non-allergic to me. A funny phenomenon.
Anyway, nice recipe- Baigan bhajia, good for rainy times like these.
Hey just had a look at your BPW- made me smile- :)

Pavani said...

Hi Anupama,
Brinjal is my all time favorite veggie. Love the way you cooked it. Will definitely try this recipe next time.

Vanita said...

Wow !i love Brinjal ! and am making this right now !! I never liked this when i was a kid but now i just love eating it..baingab barta , baingan theyal, baingan fry..name it ... !

Shella said...

I love baingan this way. You have a very nice blog. I have never had maharashtrian food, but I see some very nice recipes in your blog & will surely try them out.

Greenbay said...

just stumbled on to the blog-lovely brinjal recipe. or shall I say Solanum melongena L