Aloo Baingan : Eggplant and Potato, A Perfect Pairing.

  
   Well, now that my Advil-addled stomach is on the mend, and I'm fixing my anemia it's time to talk about cooking again. The day before the fire I cooked up a batch of stuff, but the next morning we had to flee at 3 AM and so I never got to post any of it until now. Luckily, this is one of my favorite Indian comfort foods and with the chilly and rainy weather we've been having up here post fires, it's especially welcome.
   
   Each Spring, no matter what else I'm planting, I always guaranteed plant two vegetables, potatoes, and about 4 different varieties of eggplant. Those two are the basis or are used in so many Indian dishes that they are essentials for me. This eggplant and potato dish is one of the first I learned to cook back 27 years ago. It quick, simple and delicious. All one needs is an eggplant and a few Yukon gold potatoes.

Aloo Baingnan

 

Here's What You Need:

2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cubed

1 medium or large eggplant, cubed
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
1 to 2 green Serrano chilies
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and finely minced
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
curry leaves if you have them
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp of amchur powder (mango powder) or lemon juice
salt to taste

Here's What To Do:

Cube the eggplant and drop the pieces into a bowl of water so they do not get discolored. Set them aside.

Chop the onion and set aside.

Chop the ginger...

...and the chilies.

In a skillet or kadhai heat 1Tbs coconut oil or other vegetable oil.
When the oil is hot add in the cumin seeds, ginger, chilies, and curry leaves if you are using them.

Stir things around for a minute or two and when the spices get aromatic toss in the chopped onions.

Saute the onions until they get soft and translucent, then add the potatoes and turmeric powder.

Stir everything around to coat it add about 1/2 cup of  water.

Put a lid on the pan and let things cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the eggplant and the coriander and cumin powder, stir things around so they are well mixed.

Put a lid back on the pan, and let the vegetables cook for about 10 minutes or until everything is tender. Check and stir every now and then to make sure nothing is sticking or burning. You may add a bit more water if needed.
When everything is cooked though, add in the garam masala, and mango powder or lemon juice. Salt to taste, and finally the chopped cilantro.

This is a great warming dish, and a very basic one to start with if you've not cooked Indian food before.

It's great on the table with any American meal. It also works to serve this on a #meatlessmonday  with chapattis and a simple yogurt dish. Coming up next, a brilliant yet easy apple dish from Tartine Bakerys'  new cookbook. Follow along  on Twitter @kathygori

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

A Tale of Two Pumpkins...Or Rather One Pumpkin, Two Lunches.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was pumpkin season. Every Fall I become a pumpkin hoarder. I see those beautiful little orange babies and I don't have to have just one, I have to have a whole pyramid of them. The bigger the better. If I could use them as furniture, I would.
I always intend to do something with them, but somehow, short of carving one up as a Halloween Jack O' Lantern, I never do. Maybe I suffered a pumpkin deficiency back in the years I lived in LA when there were tons of pumpkins in the markets all through October and then Bang!, November 1st, they all seemed to disappear.
Back in the day, I loved to cook with pumpkin. Pumpkin gnocchi, pumpkin sage sauce for pasta, pumpkin dumplings, pumpkin and root vegetable stews. It was like that shrimp guy in Forrest Gump. I couldn't get enough of them. So, I used to store them up in my garage and sort of work my way through them dish by dish. Along the way I learned a thing or two about pumpkins.
First of all, there are Jack O' Lantern pumpkins and cooking pumpkins. Second of all, I happen to be lucky enough to live in an area where all the pumpkins don't go missing the day after Trick or Treat. They're still out there, stacks of them and I'm taking advantage.
The best pumpkin to cook with, is the Sugar Pie Pumpkin. Contrary to popular thought, ok, contrary to what I thought, it doesn't have to be as big as my head to be good. Below is the cute little Sugar Pie I bought home the other day.


A pumpkin of this size, which I think was about 1 pound, turned out to make two, count 'em , two full very generously sized vegetable side dishes.
The first thing to do is to clean your pumpkin. Cut it, clean out the seeds (which can be cleaned, dried and roasted with tasty spices for later crunching), peel and chop it.



For this dish all you're going to need is going to be half of your 1 pound pumpkin, about 7 oz. which will be cubed into one inch pieces. This is going to be turned into
Green Beans and Pumpkin Curry, my adaptation of a recipe from one of my favorite books Atul Kochhars' Indian Essence.
Once you have your peeled and cubed pumpkin
1.) clean and cut 1/4 pound of green beans into 1 inch pieces.



2.)Pour 1 cup of water into a deep skillet or Karhai and bring it to a boil.
3.) Add the pumpkin, the beans and 2 Tbs of vegetable oil.
4.) When the water is boiling turn the heat to low and simmer it all for about 5 minutes, or until your beans are soft.
Add
5.) 1/2 tsp of salt
6.) 1/2 tsp of turmeric
7.) 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder if you can't find this, mix 1/4 tsp of cayenne powder with 1/4 tsp of paprika
8.) 1/2 tsp ground cumin
9.) 1/2 tsp ground coriander
10.) 1 1/2 Tbs of Jaggery (Indian palm sugar) can be replaced with light brown sugar.

Mix all those spices in and then continue to cook it on a low heat until all the vegetables are tender. Before you serve, sprinkle it with 2 tsp of chopped fresh cilantro.




I think I've now overcome my pumpkin hoarding, seeing as I can easily obtain them here in Sonoma county. But for those of you who may suffer from disappearing pumpkin syndrome, this recipe will work just fine with any sort of winter squash. And the best, best, best of all that one pumpkin supplies enough of beta carotene goodness for two separate meals!! Coming up soon, Pumpkin....Part 2, Cook Hard Eat Soft!!
Just A Note
Listen to my podcast on Pumpkins at A Million Cooks