
I recently bought India's Vegetarian Cooking: a regional guide by Monisha Bharadwaj and am head over heels in love. I've made four recipes from it in two days. The photographs are gorgeous, the recipes are shockingly easy considering how flavorful and unique they are. As if that weren't enough, Monisha's comments on "A Religious Perspective on Food" (all you yoga fans will recognize Ahimsa, the law of non-violence) and "Ayurveda" - balancing the five elements of nature in food - really sold me. I've always thought making authentic, flavorful Indian was out of reach, but this prooved me wrong! If you can't find an Indian mother to adopt you, this is the next best thing.

Ingredients: (adapted)
2 tablespoons brown (unhulled) sesame seeds
3 heaping tablespoons peanuts
3 tablespoons chickpea flour
1 small can (14.5 oz.) whole peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons garlic-ginger paste*
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt, to taste (about 1 tsp.)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
6 baby eggplants
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 handfuls fingerling potatoes (about 2 cups)
Handful cilantro leaves, chopped

Preparation:
1. Toast the peanuts and sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium low heat for a few minutes until fragrant. Whiz in a food processor until finely ground. Set aside.
2. In the same dry pan, toast the chickpea flour, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant. Mix with the tomatoes, breaking them up with your fingers.
3. Add the peanut-sesame mixture to the tomato-chickpea mixture. Add the *ginger-garlic paste (equal parts ginger and garlic blended until smooth). Add the turmeric, chili powder, sugar, and salt.
4. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Slit the eggplants lengthwise, up to the stem but without cutting through the stem. Stuff the eggplants with the tomato mixture. Save any remaining mixture.
6. Place the eggplants in the pan. Distribute the potatoes throughout. Pour over the remaining tomato mixture.

PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
This plate just looks gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteAshtanga Mami,
ReplyDelete(I love that name, by the way!) Thanks for your comment! This was really quite yummy and SUPER easy! Thanks for commenting and for visiting Two Blue Lemons!
Anna
Wow! This looks awesome!
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