Chickpeas, which come from the Middle East, and eggplant are typical ingredients in India. In particular, eggplants - known as brinjal - are native to the Indian continent.
If you're interested in Asian vegetables, check out my introductory articles. By the way, these veggie plates would go well with Green Chili Chicken, Basmati Rice, Braised Beef and Steamed Whole Fish.
Indian cooks tend to leave chickpeas whole, cooking them up with spices to make a type of stew. Carrots, spinach and tomato are regular additions to the chickpea plate.
These recipes come courtesy of A Cook's Guide to Asian Vegetables by Wendy Hutton (Periplus).
INDIAN CHICKPEAS
- 1 cup (200 g) chickpeas
- 4 cups (1 L) water
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 minced onion
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp minced ginger
- 3 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground red pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 diced tomato
- 3/4 tsp salt
METHOD
- Put the chickpeas in a saucepan and cover with three times their volume of water. Gring to boil and then turn off heat. Cover the pan and leave overnight.
- Drain the chickpeas and discard the water. Transfer back to the pan with 4 cups of new water and the teabag. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until he chickpeas are soft, about 1 hour. Drain the chickpeas but reserve the liquid.
- Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan and add the onion. Fry over low heat 2 minutes or until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and ginger, fry for 1 minute. Add the coriander, cumin, pepper and turmeric. Stir-fry another minute. Toss in the tomatoes and salt. Cook this for 4 to 5 minutes over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes soften.
- Pour in 2/3 cup of the preserved cooking liquid and add the drained chickpeas. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until the liquid has been absorbed. Transfer the chickpeas to a serving dish.
Eggplants come in all shapes and sizes. The Asian eggplant tends to be longer. When choosing your vegetable, make sure it doesn' t have any soft spots or worm holes. Press a finger gently to the eggplant, if it leaves an indentation, the eggplant is too old. Also, the stems should be firm and not shriveled. Eggplants are best eaten on the day they are bought.
INDIAN FRIED EGGPLANT
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) oil
- 1 1/4 lbs (600 g) Asian eggplant, cut into thin slices
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
- Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet. Fry as many slices of eggplant as possible for 3 to 4 minutes until golden. Turn the eggplant slices. Fry until the eggplant is cooked, another 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
- Place the garlic in a small bowl and add the salt. Stir in the yogurt, cumin and pepper, mixing well.
- Serve the eggplant immediately or chill the the fridge. Transfer to a dish, spoon the yogurt sauce over the eggplant just before serving. Eat!
NUTRITION: Eggplants have beta-carotene and moderate levels of thiamine.
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