Great Flavor, Extra Protein, and Vegetarian! Eggplant and Lobia Makhani for Meatless Monday.

   There are days when one is looking for an answer to the question "what to cook?" That doesn't happen all too often around our house but when it does, I go trolling to some of my favorite friends' sites to see what they've been up to looking for inspiration or an easy recipe. That is exactly what I found at my friend Sanjanas site K O Rasoi. She happened to be featuring a delicious looking Eggplant Makhani, but what sold me on the dish immediately was the fact that it could be made in my slow cooker in 3 freaking hours!!!!!!!

   Slow cooker, reasonable cooking time you had me at 3 hours!!! I knew this would be the perfect dish for a meatless Monday. Not only that but I'm nearly done with chemo, (only 3 more weeks to go) and so my energy is not the greatest, this slow cooker business sounded better and better. I'm also dealing with anemia which is a side effect of the chemo and so I decided to tweak the dish a bit by adding in some extra protein hit in the form of black eyed peas aka lobia. Chances are you have almost everything for this recipe right in your kitchen now, even if you don't do tons of Indian cooking. With that said, on to the recipe.

Eggplant, and Lobia Makhani served with Rice with Whole Spices

Here's What You'll Need: 

3 whole eggplants

1 package of frozen black eyed peas, or one 16 oz can
2  500grm bottles of passata (seived tomatoe pulp) you can find this at any market usually where the canned tomatoes or pasta sauce is sold. (I got mine at Whole Foods )
2 Tbs tomato paste
4 whole shallots finely chopped
1 Tbs grated ginger
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp garam masala
the seeds out of 6 cardamom pods, finely ground
1/4 tsp ground fennel seeds
3 small dried  red chilies finely chopped
50 grms melted unsalted butter
1 and 1/2 Tbs of sugar
3 tsp salt
100 ml of whipping cream
1 tsp of crumbled dried methi
toasted flaked almonds for garnish
chopped fresh cilantro to garnish

Here's What To Do:

Wash and chop your eggplants into 1 inch squares.

Put them into your slow cooker.

Add in the finely chopped ginger.

Chop and mince the shallots, add them to the eggplant in the slow cooker.

Pour in the bottles of sieved tomato pulp.

Add in the tomato paste.

Add in the ground coriander and garam masala.

Crush the cardamom pods.

Take out the seeds, grind them and toss them in.
Grind the fennel seeds.

Toss them in too.

Add in the chopped dried red chilies.

Add in the salt and sugar add in the melted butter.

Stir everything around so all the spices are well mixed together.

Turn on the slow cooker to high and the timer to three hours.

After an hour and a half, give everything a good stir, check and see how your eggplants are coming along.
Add in the black eyed peas
Then go about your business, this is Me Time.
When 3 hours are up check your eggplants, nice and tender?
Add in the whipping cream...

...and the ground methi.

Check your seasoning and add salt if needed.
Stir everything together and serve it up! Decorate each plate with a sprinkled of the slivered almonds and sprinkle of the chopped fresh cilantro.

I served my eggplant with Basmati rice with whole spices. You can add roti or naan bread or whatever you wish. You can even make this ahead of time (night before) and just rewarm it on the stove. Delightful, warm, spicy, the perfect early spring  slow cooker meal for a Meatless Monday.

   I want to thank Sanjana for turning me on to this amazing dish which was literally just what the doctor ordered for me! It allowed me the extra protein I needed, without  bothering with meat. This is staying in the permanent rotation at our house. I even froze the leftovers. What's next? More super easy dishes because...why not!? Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Got Coconut Milk??! Plus, Win Some Shredded Coconut!

 
Around our house the saying is "Got Coconut Milk??" A lot of the dishes I cook have origins in the Southern part of India and so coconut has become a staple in my pantry. Maybe one reason I love the taste of coconut so much is that we never had it in the house when I was growing up. Let's face it, coconut is not a big part of the Italian diet, and even if it was, my mom hates coconut and what mama doesn't like doesn't get served. As for me, I can't get enough of the stuff and I'm always looking for way s to work it into a dish.
  After my trip to Blankity Blank Farm I had a whole bunch of potatoes I was eager to use. I'd cooked the Viking Purples and was looking for a good recipe for the German Butterballs. I'd also found some cute little eggplants from Lunita Farm that were burning a hole in my fridge.
    Matchmaking is something that I absolutely suck at when it comes to people. My track record  has resulted in zero marriages, zero relationships and a lot of people who have never spoken to me again. However, when it comes to vegetables I know the perfect pairing, and those potatoes and those eggplants were just made for each other. Trust me.
    The dish I decided to make orginates in Tamil Nadu. It's a "wet" curry, almost soupy, and is a great entree for a Meatless Monday. Serve it with some rice, chapatti, a cold salad and you're all set for a feast. Also, it cooks up fast since the potatoes and the eggplants are steamed before cooking; this dish is a snap for a fast meal.
   Here's what to do.

  Cut up 6 to 8 baby eggplants

  Cut up 3 or 4 medium potatoes. I used German Butterballs

 Steam the potatoes and the eggplants for about 8 to 10 minutes or until they're slightly tender.  Don't let them get too soft.
  While they're steaming grind the spice:
 3 Tbs of toasted coriander seed

 Finely chop 2 large onions and 1 large shallot.
 In a deep skillet or kadhai heat 4 Tbs of coconut or other vegetable oil.
 When the oil is hot toss in:

 1 large cinnamon stick
 1 tsp of fennel seed
 8 fresh or frozen curry leaves
 Stir things around for a minute or two then add in the finely chopped onion and shallot

 Stir fry until the onions are starting to brown a bit then add in:
 2 dried red chili peppers and the crushed toasted coriander seed

  Stir this around for  a couple of minutes, then it's time to add in the potatoes and the eggplant pieces.
 Let them cook for a bit until the eggplants soften some more...

Then add in:
  1 large tomato cut into wedges
  1 2/3 cup of coconut milk
  7 Tbs of water
  Salt to taste.

 Bring everything to a simmer and let it cook for about 10 minutes or so. The vegetables will cook through and the sauce will thicken.

 Scatter about 2 Tbs of chopped fresh cilantro leaves across the top and you're ready to serve.

 A meatless, tasty, main dish in about 30 minutes. Can't beat that. The important thing to remember is...Got Coconut Milk??!
   And speaking of coconut.....
 Just A Reminder About my Giveaway
  If you'd like to get some Tropical Traditions Organic Shredded Coconut,  I'm going to be giving away 1 tub of dried shredded coconut to a lucky winner. Here are the rules.
  1.) Subscribe to Tropical Traditions free e-mail Newsletter by clicking the link. They offer all sorts of product specials and cool free recipes.
   After you do this, leave a comment on my blog letting me know you have, and either Twitter about my giveaway (@kathygori) or mention it on your blog with a link, and let me know.
Or
2.) Subscribe to the Tropical Traditions Newsletter and if you don't follow me on Twitter, follow me @kathygori and Twitter about the giveaway. Or sign up to follow my blog The Colors Of Indian Cooking and let me know you've mentioned the giveaway on your blog with a link.
Or
3.) Subscribe to the Tropical Traditions Newsletter and mention my blog and giveaway on Facebook, then let me know you have.
    I have to add for the fine print here:
Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.
    I'm offering this shredded coconut because I've been using it and it's great and I wanted  someone else to be able to enjoy it also.
  The winner will be drawn randomly through Random.org on Sept 1st.
   Meanwhile, I'm off to the big city of Petaluma today to see what I can see. Coming up... more crazy candy colored vegetables!