Dry Fried Eggplants

 

Fried indulgence is what I would like to call them. For anyone who never liked eggplants before…this dish can surely change your mind. I had this dish for the first time ever a couple of months back in an authentic Chinese restaurant. Eggplants never tasted so good to me before, this dish totally changed my outlook towards them. I came home and scurried through the net to find the recipe. And after three relentless days of narrowing down my search. I ended up with this recipe and gave it a go.

INGREDIENTS :

  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • Hot (Chinese) chili powder – ½ or 1 tsp
  • Hot paprika – ½ or 1 tsp
  • About 6 (1 1/2 pounds total) Chinese (long) eggplants, trimmed, peeled and cut lengthwise into 2- or 3-inch-long, thick “steak” fries (about 8 fries from each eggplant)
  • Water
  • Cornstarch – ½ cup
  • Leaves and tender stems from 4 to 6 stems cilantro, coarsely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS :

  1. Heat at least 4 inches of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees.
  2. Place a wire rack over several layers of paper towels.
  3. Combine the chili powder and paprika (to taste) in a small bowl.
  4. Meanwhile, wet the eggplant fries with a little water. Spread the cornstarch on a rimmed baking sheet.
  5. Working in batches, lightly and evenly coat the eggplant fries with the cornstarch, shaking off any excess. Discard any remaining cornstarch.
  6. Carefully add about 8 fries at a time to the hot oil; fry for 2 minutes, or until just browned, crisped and tender. Use a Chinese skimmer or slotted spatula to transfer to the rack to drain. Repeat to fry all the eggplant.
  7. Transfer the still-warm, crisped eggplant fries to a serving bowl; season with the chili powder-paprika mixture to taste; this dish is supposed to be spicy, and, if you can stand it, you should use enough of the mixture to color the eggplant fries a reddish-orange. Toss quickly with the cilantro; serve right away.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/dry-fried-eggplant/12553/

 

 

IMG_3208 - Chick Peas 2

Life is going thru a lot of change lately, change of pace, mind, taste, locations, perceptions and decisions. So finally for a change I decided to steer away from making another dessert. You can think of this as a warm chickpea salad or a curry. It is a very easy dish to make and you can substitute any of these ingredients to your liking except for chickpeas.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Onions -1
  • Tomatoes  – 2
  • Eggplant – 1
  • Cilantro – 2 tbs
  • Canned chickpeas
  • Yoghurt – 3 tbs
  • Cumin powder  –  1 tsp
  • Sugar – 1 tsp
  • Black pepper to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • Scallions – 2 tbs
  • Green chillies – 1 tbs
  • Crushed dried chillies – 2 tbs
  • Juice of half a lemon

INSTRUCTIONS: 

  1. Sauté the eggplant and the tomatoes till it softens.
  2. Add the chickpeas and cumin, let it simmer for 5 minutes keeping it covered.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients , stir and cover the lid for approximately 10 minutes and let it sit on a medium flame.