Eggplant and Coconut, A Simple Vegetarian Biryani.

   
   Alan has gone mainly vegetarian in his diet with the exception of some pescetarian choices so I've used this change of food policy around the house to move things more in the direction of how I eat. This has enabled me to take full advantage of all the goodies I'm growing in our garden. I love the idea that I can go out pick, and cook a lot of what we eat everyday. This has brought me back to nearly daily Indian dishes. Fish or even meat if served,  is not the star but rather a side player. A little bit  goes a long way.
   
   Since  we have always worked out of our home office, I like things that I can make ahead or that come together easy depending on what's available in the garden on any given day, which brings me to eggplants. Every year we grow a variety of eggplants from the large classic Italian, to Japanese, to the tiny Thai, and Indian finger eggplants. I thought a nice vegetarian biryani would be good so I looked to a traditional Kerala recipe of eggplant and coconut biryani or layered rice as it's is sometimes called.
 
Looking in the garden I thought my eggplants might not be ready yet so a trip to the farmers market might be needed, but I took a look and whoa!!! Eggplants had arrived!!!

I cut three Japanese eggplants of a pretty good size...

 ...some chilies, and mint.

 I wanted tomatoes but mine have not ripened yet. It's been a relatively cool Summer for us this year so all the vegetables are behind schedule. I had most of the basics for the dish so the shopping and prep was pretty easy.

Eggplant and Coconut Biryani

Here's What You Need:

2 or 3 Japanese Eggplants cut lengthwise and into 1/2 inch chunks
2 cups of coconut milk (full fat)
1 and 1/4 cups of Basmati rice
1/2 cup of grated unsweetened coconut fresh or dried
1 cup of peas (fresh or frozen)
1 and 3/4 cups of water
5 thin round slices of ginger

1 onion chopped roughly
1 large shallot peeled and sliced thinly
1 to 3 chopped green serrano chilies (with seeds) depending on how hot you want this.
2  dried red chilies broken into pieces
1 large tomato chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 and 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs chopped mint leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbs lemon juice
# ztbs vegetable oil

Here's What To Do:

Rinse the Basmati rice and place it in 1 and 1/4 cup s of water to soak for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile put the coconut in a cast iron pan along with the dried red chilies and dry roast them until they are slightly golden. This takes just a couple of minutes so keep an eye out.

Take the toasted coconut and red chilies, and cool them a bit.
Slice the eggplants in half the long way and chunk them up into 1 inch pieces.

Place  the chopped serrano chilies, ginger slices, sliced shallot, and onion  in a food processor or blender.

Add the toasted coconut and dried red chilies...

,,,and grind into a paste.

Than add in the coriander, garam masala...

...and turmeric.

Blend again then put everything in a large skillet or kadhai along with 2 Tbs of vegetable oil and stir over medium heat until it colors. This takes about 5 minutes.

Add in the eggplants, half the salt...

...and 1/2 cup of the coconut milk.

Stir everything around.

Turn the heat up to high for about 3 minutes, then turn down to medium.
Cover the pan and cook until the eggplants have softened about 15 to 20 minutes.
Check in on things every now and then to make sure nothing is burning or sticking.
When the eggplants are soft move them to a bowl and set them aside.

In a large pot add 1 Tbs of vegetable oil.
When the poil is hot add in the tomato...

 ...mint and cilantro.

Cook and stir until most of the moisture from the tomato has evaporated.
Now, add the rice and the water it was soaking in...

...along with the rest of the salt, and the rest of the coconut milk.

Bring to  a boil over high heat than slap a cover on the pot and turn the heat way down to the lowest setting for about 10 minutes. We are not going to cook the rice all the way through as it is going to finish in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and lightly grease an oven-proof dish. I usually use a clay pot but I used a pyrex casserole dish this time to get a good view of the biryani.

After the rice is cooked partly through (about 10 minutes) place half the semi cooked rice in the casserole dish.

Layer the defrosted or fresh peas on top of the rice.

Then add the eggplant mixture you've set aside. Layer the peas and eggplant together and mix them a bit.

Add the rest of the rice on top of that.

Then squeeze 3 Tbs of lemon juice over it all.

Cover the dish and place it in the oven.

Bake for 15 or 20 minutes.
Take the dish out and uncover it.
Sprinkle the top with a dash more garam masala, and a sprinkling of more chopped cilantro and mint.

Then  dish it out. See the layers?

I served mine in clay mini biryani pots, with a bit of cooling  cumin raita and some flatbread.

Chapatti would be great with it also.

There it is a simple vegetarian lunch right out of the garden. This can  be made ahead and reheated later, or the next day.  Mellowing only makes it better. This recipe will feed between 4 and 6 people.

 



   

   
    

Simple, Spicy, Eggplant Curry.

 
   We had a wet and cold Winter here in Sonoma, and our Spring was the same. It has taken forever for a lot of the things that we usually plant to bloom and ripen. I'm still waiting on a mass of green tomatoes to turn red. Meanwhile after a couple of super hot weeks the eggplants started to produce. I usually plant about 4 different varieties of eggplant so that almost anything I want to cook is covered. My little baby globe eggplants which are traditionally used for this Indian dish are still not ready but the Japanese eggplants were, so I decided to work with what I had and make a hot Summertime Eggplant Curry, using them and some of the Serrano chilies from my garden.

   This is a dish that cooks up pretty fast and also is great as a make-ahead, reheat tomorrow dish. Giving everything time to mellow is one of the best features of Indian cooking, and why not do most of the heavy lifting on a cooler Summer evening, and just simply reheat the next day?  This is a vegan dish, and the gravy is made of a mixture of nuts and seeds, you won't miss the dairy. So without further ado....

Spicy Eggplant Curry In A Nut Gravy

 

Here's What You Need: 

5 medium sized Japanese eggplant cut into pieces

3 Tbs vegetable oil, I use coconut oil
1 small onion chopped
1 and 1/4 tsp shallot ginger paste (1 Tbs chopped fresh ginger, and 1 Tbs chopped shallot blended together with a bit of water in a grinder)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp black onion seed
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
5 curry leaves (if you have them)
2 serrano chilies chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp Kashmiri chili
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp tamarind pulp
water
salt to taste
cilantro for garnish

For the Nut Gravy:

4 tbs peanuts
3 Tbs dried unsweetened grated coconut
2  tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds


Here's What To Do:

In a small pan dry roast the coconut, peanuts, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds.
When they start to toast take them off the fire and place them in a blender or spice grinder with a little bit of water if needed.

Grind the nuts and seeds to a thick paste and set it aside.

In a skillet or or kadhi heat 2 Tbs of the vegetable oil.

When the oil is hot add in the cut up eggplant pieces.

Cook on medium heat until the eggplants are a bit soft,(10 minutes or so.) Don't overcook them.
Take the eggplants out of the pan and place them on a paper towel to drain.
add 1 more Tbs of oil to the pan and when it's hot add in the mustard seeds.

When they start to pop add in the onion seed and fennel seed...

...the chopped green chilies and the curry leaves if you have them.

Stir everything around and then add in the chopped onions.

Cook until they're translucent then add in the ginger shallot paste.

Cook the paste for about 3 minutes or so,then add in the cumin, and coriander powder, salt to taste, and the Kashmiri chili powder.

Cook the spices for about 3 minutes then add in 1/2 cup of water to make sure they don't burn.
Add the seed and nut paste to the pan.

Add the turmeric and cook the paste for about 5 minutes on a medium low heat.
Add in the cooked eggplants...

...and two cups of water.

Stir everything around, cover the pan and cook on a medium low heat for 15-20 minutes.

When the 15-20 minutes are done the mixture will be thicker, add in the tamarind, and sugar, and the garam masala.

Stir everything together well, sprinkle in some fresh cilantro...

...and serve it up!

This dish is hot and spicy with a touch of sweet. Serve it with a simple rice dish, and some chapatti for a tasty Indian lunch or supper. Coming up next...tomatillos in  an Indian dal. Follow along on Twitter @ kathygori

19 Eggplants And Counting... Japanese Eggplant in Red Miso.

    
   When we planted eggplant this spring, we planted a wide variety. We planted the small Indian globe eggplant, the large Italian eggplant, and of course Japanese eggplant. I had no idea we'd have such a proliferation!!!! We are drowning in eggplant and I love it. Maybe because I grew up in an Italian household I have eaten eggplant in it's various permutations since day one. Then 25 years ago when I started cooking Indian food, I was introduced to the large variety of eggplants that were available. So, of course when we planted this Spring, we had a little bit of everything, only a little bit wasn't so little after all.

   Usually when cooking eggplant, I've either cooked them in some Italian recipe or cooked them Indian style. I've roasted, stuffed, and pickled but never have I cooked them Japanese style. I figured it was about time.... So...I gathered up my Japanese Eggplants...

Japanese Eggplant With Red Miso aka Nasu Dengaku

Here's What You Need:
2 large Japanese Eggplants
2 Tbs vegetable oil
3 Tbs red miso
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs Sake
2 Tbs Mirin
2 Tbs water

Here's What To Do: 
Preheat the oven to 392 degrees.
Pick your Japanese eggplant (if you're growing your own) Excuse opportunity to show off the eggplants.

Wash and dry therm and cut them into rounds.

 Then quarters.

Place the cut up eggplant in a colander sitting over a bowl, and sprinkle it with 3 Tbs of kosher salt.

Rub the salt around on the eggplant pieces and then let everything sit for 10 minutes.
Rinse the salt off of the eggplants.

The water in the bottom of the bowl? That's the bitter liquid leached out by the salt.
Dry the eggplant, rub it with 1 Tbs of vegetable oil, and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Spread the pieces out so they're not sitting on top of each other.

Place the baking sheet of eggplant pieces in the oven.

Roast them for 20 minutes. You are looking for the eggplant to be slightly browned.
Meanwhile make the sauce.

Whisk together the sugar...

...Red Miso...

...Sake...

 ...Mirin, and water. Stir everything together until it is well mixed.

After about 20 minutes take the tray of eggplant out of the oven and drizzle the sauce over the eggplant pieces.

 Stir everything around until each piece is coated with sauce.

Then slide the tray of eggplant back into the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the sauce caramelizes.
Take it out of the oven and serve it up!

   Sweet and salty, this oven roasted eggplant is a great go to for when you don't feel like getting out the grill. It goes great with any vegetarian meal, or as a side dish with meat or fish. Coming up next, all vegetables all the time, as a big part of our harvest comes in. Of course we're not neglecting dessert either and this is a great time of year for perfecting your "specialitie" for the up coming holidays. I got that. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori