Fried Eggplant roundels/Baigana Bhajaa

With the festival season in full swing all Indian kitchens are busy churning out new delicacies every day.Odiya delicacies dominate my kitchen on festivals and holidays.With sweets and delectable desserts in abundance everywhere the craving for simple, comfort food rises.

Last week during the Durga Puja I was into lot of traditional cooking and had made these golden fried eggplant slices with some Mung Dal Khichdi.These eggplant fry is called Baigana Bhaja in Odisha.The eggplant is cut into half inch roundels ,marinated in turmeric,salt and chilli powder and deep fried or shallow fried in mustard oil .

Bhaja in Odiya means fry and it's an integral part of a traditional Oriya meal.Its an accompaniment with rice,dal and curries.Have seen cooks deep frying the roundels in marriages and functions but I prefer to shallow fry in a wok with 2-3 tbsp of Mustard oil which imparts a unique flavour to the dishes.

You Require
2 round variety eggplants / brinjals
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt or according to taste
3-4 tbsp mustard oil for shallow frying

Method

• Wash and wipe dry the eggplants ,cut into 1/2 inch thick roundels.
• Marinate with the turmeric,chilli powder and salt.
• Smear it uniformly on the slices and keep it marinated for 15 mins.
• Heat the mustard oil in a wok till smoke emanates from it .
• Lessen the heat and fry the marinated slices in batches of 2 or 3 in a medium flame.
• Cook both the sides till nice and brown.
• Serve with a proper Oriya meal or with just plain ghee smeared Khichdi .

Divinely nostalgic!

Eggplant Parmigiana

My last post talked about spring butI can hardly see any traces of spring in the city.This morning when I woke up I was surprised to see a thick shroud of snow everywhere.Where is the sun....its ages since I have seen and felt its warm golden rays and miss the warmth of the room as the rays filter through the french windows and create those dancing shadows on the wall.There are so many amazing and wonderful things that go unnoticed in our lives,it's the small things that we sometime take for granted without giving a second thought to appreciate their presence.

The weather out here has been very unpredictable these past few days and as I was reading Sia's post and came across the term global warming the first thing that came to my mind was a documentary film in National geographic that I was watching a few days back.The documentary was on global warming and its frightening repercussions.With global warming taking its toll the worst hit country would be India they claim,according to them within a span of 200 years all the glaciers in Himalayas would melt and the Ganges would transform into a desert.With so many people relying on the Ganga for their daily requirement of water,the consequence is horrifying.
I have been having this terrible stinging sensation in my throat since last night and my sixth sense says I am going to be down with a bad bout of cough and cold.My only concern is Mishti, my little one who is bound to pick up an infection from me....and with the mom and the child both sick and hubby dear tending to us, it's utter chaos in the house.I am just not looking forward to this:(

My post today is Eggplant Parmigiana,sliced eggplants fried,layered with creamy red and white sauce and baked with a sprinkling of cheese.The recipe is again a Nita Mehta's Italian collection, I specially
prepared it to send an entry for Creative Pooja's Vow Brinjal.

Eggplants is not a great favourite in my house but this delectable version with garlic bread and a greek salad was an immensely enjoyable meal.One more brinjal dish that we relish is "Baigana Bhaja" an oriya dish ,sliced brinjals marinated in turmeric,salt and chilli pwdr and deep fried or shallow fried in mustard oil.....this tastes ultimate with puris.You can check out the recipe Here.

you need:
1 big eggplant of round,oblong variety
2 cubes cheddar cheese(i used a russian cheese )
2 tbsp grated parmesan
oil for frying
tomato sauce:
2 large tomatoes,pureed
3 flakes garlic,crushed
8-10 basil leaves,chopped
1 tsp oregano,dried
1/2 tsp chilli pwdr
1/2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp thick cream
1 tsp olive oil
white sauce:
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion,chopped
2 cups milk
1 tbsp thick cream
salt and pepper to taste
Method:

1. Slice the eggplants and sprinkle some salt and keep aside for 15 mins.Pat dry on akitchen towel and deep fry them in oil to a light brown colour.( I shallow fried them in olive oil)
2. For the tomato sauce,heat oil and fry the onions and garlic till it slightly changes colour.Add the rest of the ingredients except the cream and boil for 10 mins till the juice from the tomatoes evaporates and turns slightly thick.Remove from fire and add cream.
3. To prepare the white sauce melt the butter,add onion and stir till light pink.Sprinkle flour and cook on low heat for 2 mins,stirring throughout.Remove from heat and gradually add milk,mix until well blended.Return to heat and keep stirring until the sauce thickens.Remove from fire,add cream ,salt and pepper and mix well.
4. To assemble,spread 1/3 of the white sauce in a baking dish.
5. Place 1/2 of the eggplant slices on it,spread tomato sauce over the eggplants,sprinkle some parmesan cheese.
6. Repeat another layer of eggplants,top with the remaining white sauce and sprinkle both the cheddar and parmesan cheese.
7.Bake for 10 mins at 200 deg C till the cheese melts.