Roasting the Aubergine(Eggplant)

For roasting the baingan aka eggplant, there are different techniques :

1) For the most tasty one roast it directly on the fire(if u r lucky enough to have a gas stove). B’coz no other way can beat the taste of fire roasted eggplant. Wash & pat dry the eggplant then rub little cooking oil all over the eggplant. Put it directly on the gas (med.-high) & when the skin start getting charred (burn marks) just rotate it. Do it till its roasted from all sides.The aroma will tell u it’s roasted(takes around 10-12 min.).

2) Now for those who like me don’t have luxury of gas stove can double wrap the eggplant in a heavy duty foil, put it on the stove top(med-high). Make sure u wrap it nicely-no open ends, otherwise the juices will run out on the stove(so be ready to do the cleanup).Same as first method u got to rotate it but this time to check if it’s roasted or not just press the packet with a wooden spoon and if u feel it’s hard means need more roasting on that spot otherwise if it’s firm means done (takes around 15 min.).

I only do this when I’m roasting just 1 eggplant as I need to baby sit this.

3) For most easy & efficient way just wash & pat dry the eggplant then rub some cooking oil on it & put them in a baking sheet & broil in the oven. You need to rotate these one also may be 1 or 2 time so they are charred from all the sides.

This method is very handy when u want to roast more then one(like I do 3-4 at a time). As u can freeze the x’tra ones for later use.

Now the major part is done. Next either dip the roasted eggplant in cold tap water or let it cool then take off all the skin, which will be easy to peel now.Take all the meat(pulp) of the veg. and using knife or backside of the fork just mash it.It’s ready to be used.

Note : If not using it right away just sprinkle little salt & cooking oil on the roasted eggplant meat, mix it nicely & freeze it.Next time when u crave baingan bhartha no need to go thru all the roasting part.

Ratatouille Masaledar

(Indian Style)

For those who are not familiar to the term ratatouille, let me please tell you that it doesn't have anything to do with Rats. Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise(source : wikipedia). I have seen many different versions of it on food tv so there is no hard & fast rule except that it's mainly tomato based dish with zucchini, aubergine(eggplant) & onion as the main vegetables plus some herbs of your choice.So today morning when i woke up thinking in my mind what to cook for lunch & open the cooler box(yes i mean fridge). It was full of vegetables thanks to our love for fresh veggies whenever me & my hubby dear go for groceries together, result is lots & lots of fresh veggies & fruits. So i guess you guessed it that we had a trip to the grocery store yesterday.I didn't wanted to make aloo-baingan, except me no one is very fond of zucchini as a subji with roti in my house but for some reason i wanted to cook these two things. So here comes Ratatouille Masaledar. I hope all of you gonna enjoy it as much as we did.

Ingredient :

1. One medium size Eggplant
2. 2 Green Zucchini
3. 1 med. Size potato
4. 1 white Onion
5. 1 large tomato
6. 2 Carrots
7. ½ cup chopped green beans
8. 4-5 garlic cloves
9. Salt as per taste.
10. Green chillies 3-4
11. Fresh cilantro or parsley chopped a handful
12. Enough oil to saute all the vegetables(preferably Olive Oil)
13. Panch Puran spice mix 2 tsp.
    Panch Puran is a fragrant mix of five whole spices - fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, kalonji (onion) seeds, fennel seeds and cumin seeds. Mainly used in Bengali & Oriya cuisine.

Method :
Chop eggplant,zucchini,potato, onion & tomato into 1 inch cubes. Slice the carrots(not too thick)& chop the garlic too(I like it sliced).

In a heavy bottom pan heat up some oil(enough to coat the bottom of the pan). Add eggplant saute them around 7-8 min. on med. high. When they turn brown from all the sides take them out using a slotted spoon.Now add zucchini to the pan (if needed add little bit more oil)saute it too. Once done take it out of the pan. These 2 vegetables can easily become mushy so be careful not to overcook these, they should be holding there shape & a little bit of crunch too.

Next add little bit more oil to the same pan & shallow fry the potatoes & when potatoes are half way done, move them to the side of the pan & tilt the pan onto one side (by holding it little bit up from the opposite side) & add garlic saute it add panch puran let the spices saute little bit now add carrots & beans(If needed add little bit of oil) . After 2-3 minutes add chopped onion. Let everything cook for roughly 5 min.

It does sound little bit of confusing but the order in which we are adding vegetables is just to make sure that all of them get coating(flavor) of olive oil & believe me sauteing the veggies one by one really adds to the flavours as compared to putting everything together.

Now it's time to add tomatoes & chopped green chillies.Let them cook for 3-4 min. and it's time to return the sauted eggplant & zucchini to the pan. Add the salt too & stir everything together very gently, you don't want to break eggplant & zucchini.Cover it & cook it for another 5 minutes or till the potatoes are done. Before serving add the fresh herb on top.......we had ours with the thinly sliced green onions on top.

Serve with warm roti or naan.