Today the only beverage I drink is water all day and a green
smoothie every other day. I don’t eat
processed foods at all and I am a vegetarian.
I do eat eggs and milk products so I’m considered Lacto-Ovo
Vegetarian.
Before I became vegetarian I was very picky about my
food. I wouldn't try anything that
looked too ‘strange’ or ‘different’ from what I was used to eating. That meant lots of fried food, lots of junk food and lots of
drive through. One thing I never ate as a child was eggplant. I never really even knew what an eggplant
was until I was an adult, and never tasted one before a year ago. Shocking I know.
One dish I tried recently is Baingan Ka Bharta. Bharta is a smoky eggplant dish that uses
cumin, onion and tomatoes to create a curry that can be served with rice and/or
Naan.
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Ingredients
1 eggplant
4 tbsp. oil
(Canola, Sunflower or Olive) 2 for the eggplant and 2 for sautéing the garlic
& onion
1 tsp. Cumin
Seeds
1 large
onion – chopped fine
1 tbsp.
garlic – chopped fine
1” piece of
ginger root – grated fine
1 green
chili (remove most of the seeds – seeds = heat)
1 tomato –
chopped fine
½ tsp.
coriander powder
½ tsp. cumin
powder
½ tsp. garam
masala powder
1 glass of wine - add to chef throughout the cooking process
1 glass of wine - add to chef throughout the cooking process
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Process
Start out by preparing the eggplant to roast by cutting it lengthwise
and scoring the inside of the flesh in a diamond pattern. Add salt and olive oil to the top and place
skin side down in a baking dish. Place
in 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the flesh pulls away from the
skin easily. Scoop out and set aside.
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Get a large pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Add cumin seeds to the hot oil and cook until
they stop sputtering.
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Add the onions and cook until clear then add the garlic and
ginger and fry for about a minute.
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Next add the finely diced tomatoes and all the remaining powdered spices. Cook for about 3-5 minutes and stir constantly to avoid the mixture from sticking.
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
Finally add the eggplant and cook for about another minute.
Serve over rice and/or with Naan.
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| Photo Credit - Renee Olson |
This dish was pretty good.
We tried it several times adjusting the recipe. Remember to remove most of the seeds from
your chilies if you want to be milder in flavor. I used only one and it was still a bit
spicy.
A lot of traditional Indian and Thai dishes call for
ginger. I recommend getting a fresh
ginger root and keeping it on your counter.
You can always use it to make Crystallized Ginger Candy which is great
for digestion!
Have questions? Have a
recipe you’d like me to try? Feel free
to leave a comment here or email me at sosanna@sosannascloset.com.
Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(
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