Thursday, September 22, 2011

Mission Possible... Eggplant Mughlai Style


   I've been cooking a lot of vegan food for the last three weeks as our friend was preparing for his radiation treatment /isolation period for thyroid cancer. There is a very specific non/low iodine diet that's prescribed for patients, and fortunately most Indian recipes fit comfortably into that slot. My Mission if I chose to accept it was to find interesting and taste tempting treats that could keep our friend's taste buds excited through the three weeks he'd have to be off his regular vegetarian diet and in vegan land. I love a challenge. Sexing up eggplant wasn't exactly like dropping on wires through a deadly laser trap... but for me it was close. Really.


Imagine how much more exciting it would have been for Tom Cruise if he'd had to find a new and  interesting way to fix eggplant rather than whatever the hell he was looking for on those wires.
   But why the eggplant obsession you may ask? Good question. For one thing, eggplants were on special, and most importantly eggplants have a great texture when preparing any vegetarian or vegan food. Eggplants are up there with mushrooms for providing a nice "meaty" mouth feel.
   Most of the eggplant recipes I'd been fixing had been savory with tomato playing a major part. But three weeks in, I was looking to expand eggplant's flavor profile and take it in a different direction. I looked to the north of India. I found an eggplant dish fragrant with cinnamon and cardamom, studded with raisins. I'd found a Mughal Eggplant dish.
   The influence of Mughal  cooking is strong in the North of India. There's less heat and more aroma. Paula Wolfert and I were talking at the Tuesday Farmer's Market a couple of weeks ago about the similarities between Moroccan Food and Indian Food. They use the same spices and many of the same cooking technique. In fact, when we talked about some recipes, they seemed to be virtually the same. I haven't run this one past Paula yet but I'm sure she's going to tell me there's something in the Moroccan kitchen that resembles it.
   While turning out a lot of different vegan dishes regularly, I needed dishes that could come together easily with easy to get ingredients. Alan and I are also on a script deadline trying to get our latest piece of work out of the house, so there wasn't the usual amount of time. Enter Mughlai Eggplant.

Mughlai Eggplant

Here's what to do:
Wash, quarter, and quarter the eggplant again.

 Put the eggplant in a colender and sprinkle it with 4 tsp of kosher salt.
 Let it sit for about 10 minutes then rinse it thoroughly.
Pat the eggplant dry and heat 3 Tbs of vegetable oil.
 When the oil is hot toss in:
  1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
  1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
Stir fry them until the mustard seeds start to pop.
Add in:
 2 onions thinly sliced
 The eggplant slices
Stir them around until the onions start to brown and the eggplants cook through.
 Add in:
  1/4 tsp of Kashmiri chili or 1/8 tsp of cayenne mixed with 1/8 tsp of paprika
  1/2 tsp of coriander
  1/4 tsp of turmeric
  1/4 tsp of cinnamon
  1/4 tsp of cardamom
Stir it all around so that the spices are mixed into the dish, and continue cooking until the eggplant starts to brown.
 Mix together:
   2 Tbs of chopped cashews
   2 Tbs of golden raisins
Sprinkle them over the eggplant spice and onion mixture.
Stir everything together while the cashews and the raisins brown. Salt to taste.
 Scatter the eggplant with:
  1 chopped seeded fresh green chili
  A 1 inch piece of fresh julienne ginger
  Chopped fresh cilantro

  There it is. Sweet, spicy (but not too) crunchy eggplant ready as the star of the table in less than an hour. Serve it with rice and some chapatti or dal and another vegetable, or go totally out of the Indian arena and pop it down next to any meat entree. I can tell you from personal experience, it goes just as well with an Italian meat dish.
   As for our friend, he had his final scan at the hospital this morning and got his all clear! We couldn't be happier. Thanks to all of you who sent me great hints and dessert recipes during the last three weeks.
 Coming up next , once again I go for The Big O for all you Okra Lovers out there. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

12 comments :

  1. This one looks yum,..luv the name too

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  2. Hi Kathy,

    I am sorry if this comment comes across as rude but Mughlai food is not about adding nuts. Mughlai food always includes butter or cream and not all Mughlai recipes include nuts.

    Also, while Mughlai food is found in various parts of India, it would be incorrect to say that this style of cooking influences North Indian cuisine. Being a North Indian, I want to clarify that the food is not inspired or influenced by Mughlai cuisine, both are entirely different.

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  3. Lovely! There's really no other cuisine that does the eggplant quite as much justice as Indian cuisine does... I've never thought to pair it with sweet flavours like this, but it sounds like a wonderful combination. Must try this next time I've got vegetarian friends over for dinner.

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  4. @Anonymous,
    no problem..I didn't mean to imply all Mughlai cuisine always included nuts.. I do a lot of dishes from South India and there are plenty of nuts in those! The dish is titled that way because in all my sourcing of the recipe that was how it was referenced. I am always open to learning as much as I can..so thanks for your comments

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  5. Kathy, you're very welcome. Again, I do apologize if you found my comments rude. I love reading your blog and I am quite impressed with all that you cook :)

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  6. This looks and sounds just amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

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  7. Tom Cruise aside, this dish looks simply magical!! It's so wonderful to continue learning from you.

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  8. Wow - It looks amazing. Thank you for posting this recipe. I think this recipe will be a hit with my family

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  9. How on earth did I miss such a lovely food blog?! Your blog is singing and dancing to Indian flavors left right and center. :)

    I love your tag line - A Hollywood Screenwriter A Bollywood Kitchen. Am super impressed with your blog.

    Will be visiting you more often.

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  10. This dish sounds delicious, and will make the perfect use of our eggplants we just received in our CSA!

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  11. Congratulations! I'm very happy for your friend, and how lucky he is to have such a wonderful cook to feed him such tasty and healthy food.

    My friend gave me a bag full of eggplant from her garden that I had no idea what to do with. Now I do!

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  12. Very easy and innovative recipe Kathy. Looks delish.

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