Friday Eggplant Blogging (Sans Pictures)
Next year, we shall grow eggplants. This year, we would have grown eggplants had our neighbour actually kept his promise to buy us some of those slim Italian ones when he eventually re-found the fruit stand on the main drag that sold them. But, as I'm sure you've noticed, our neighbour is kind of a thoughtless ass. It's the new-found constant supply of sex, i.e. he has a new girlfriend, but still. It's annoying. And we still hate the girlfriend's cat. Back to the topic, Friday eggplant blogging, which should have been Thursday eggplant blogging but I decided to ogle Gary Sinise in CSI: New York instead of post the recipe, which also uses tomatoes and we have no small supply of those at the moment.
From World Vegetarian, which has the wonkiest liquid measurements ever but oh well. I ignore them.
Slice 1 1/4 lbs of Japanese eggplants into 3/4 inch slices. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss and set aside for 30 - 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, place 3 ounces of coarsely chopped red bell pepper (approx. 1/2 a pepper), 4 coarsely chopped medium shallots (I used a quarter of an onion), 3 peeled garlic cloves, 1/4 teaspoon tumeric, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, and 4 tablespoons of water in the tall cup thingie that came with your immersion blender. Using your immersion blender, blend until you have a paste.
Put 3 tablespoons of neutral oil in a frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. When hot, add paste and cook, stirring constantly, until the water from the paste has gone away. Add 10 ounces of finely chopped tomatoes (I used the immersion blender to crush mine because I'm lazy) and cook for 4 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and as much water as you think necessary to make a nice sauce (Madhur calls for 1/2 cup but when it comes to adding moisture to her dishes, she's on crack. I added a splash of water). Turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 4 minutes. Turn the heat off and set the sauce aside.
Drain the eggplant and pat them dry with a paper towel.
If you'd like to deep-fry your eggplants, pour oil to a 2-inch depth in a wok or deep frying pan (I don't want to hear from you if you have a deep fryer. Spoiled brat.) Or you can shallow fry them, which is what I did. When the oil is hot (I heated mine over medium heat), put in a single layer of eggplant. Cook until golden brown, turning once if you're shallow frying. Drain fried eggplant on paper towel.
When you're done frying the eggplant, reheat the sauce over medium heat. When hot, add the eggplant. Stir gently. Serve hot (very good!) or at room temperature (also, very good because Ptichka and I snarfed the leftovers too).
I served mine over rice, which, for once, I managed to cook perfectly.
From World Vegetarian, which has the wonkiest liquid measurements ever but oh well. I ignore them.
Slice 1 1/4 lbs of Japanese eggplants into 3/4 inch slices. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss and set aside for 30 - 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, place 3 ounces of coarsely chopped red bell pepper (approx. 1/2 a pepper), 4 coarsely chopped medium shallots (I used a quarter of an onion), 3 peeled garlic cloves, 1/4 teaspoon tumeric, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, and 4 tablespoons of water in the tall cup thingie that came with your immersion blender. Using your immersion blender, blend until you have a paste.
Put 3 tablespoons of neutral oil in a frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. When hot, add paste and cook, stirring constantly, until the water from the paste has gone away. Add 10 ounces of finely chopped tomatoes (I used the immersion blender to crush mine because I'm lazy) and cook for 4 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and as much water as you think necessary to make a nice sauce (Madhur calls for 1/2 cup but when it comes to adding moisture to her dishes, she's on crack. I added a splash of water). Turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 4 minutes. Turn the heat off and set the sauce aside.
Drain the eggplant and pat them dry with a paper towel.
If you'd like to deep-fry your eggplants, pour oil to a 2-inch depth in a wok or deep frying pan (I don't want to hear from you if you have a deep fryer. Spoiled brat.) Or you can shallow fry them, which is what I did. When the oil is hot (I heated mine over medium heat), put in a single layer of eggplant. Cook until golden brown, turning once if you're shallow frying. Drain fried eggplant on paper towel.
When you're done frying the eggplant, reheat the sauce over medium heat. When hot, add the eggplant. Stir gently. Serve hot (very good!) or at room temperature (also, very good because Ptichka and I snarfed the leftovers too).
I served mine over rice, which, for once, I managed to cook perfectly.
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