Achari Baingan

We went a whole week without cooking! Yes, that's right. No standing in the kitchen for 4 hours on a Sunday. Instead, we spent time with some of our good friends and got back home well past midnight. I had work M-F, and usually that means I go to bed worrying about what to have for dinner or lunch the following day. Not this time. We kept it simple with frozen parathas and curd for dinner, and something equally ready to eat for lunch.


Anyhow, 5 days is about how long I can last on frozen food and maggi. So, Saturday lunch deserved some effort in the kitchen :-) Here's Achari Baingan!





What You Need:

Small Brinjals or diced eggplant - 1 cup
Diced Tomatoes - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1.5 tsp
Curry Powder - 1 tsp
Fennel, Cumin, Fenugreek, Mustard - 1 tsp total
Asafoetida - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic - 1 tsp
Oil - 3 tsp
Chopped Cilantro - 2 tsp

• Heat the oil in a non stick pan, and saute the eggplant with a little salt and let it sweat until tender
• Transfer to a bowl, and keep aside
• In the same pan - heat some oil, and toss in mustard, fennel, Cumin, Fenugreek seeds and let splutter
• Add in tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Cover with a lid and let the tomatoes cook until soft.
• Add all the spice powders and ginger garlic paste and stir until well blended
• Lastly, add the cooked eggplant, cook for a few mins and garnish with cilantro!

Enjoy with rotis / lachcha parathas!