Eggplants in a North-South Sauce
A flavorful Indian dish combining tender eggplants with aromatic spices like asafetida, mustard seeds, cumin, nigella, and fennel in a tomato-based sauce. Perfect as a vegetarian main course or side dish.
Ingredients
- •4 tablespoons olive or canola oil
- •⅛ teaspoon ground asafetida
- •½ teaspoon skinned urad dal or yellow split peas
- •½ teaspoon whole mustard seeds
- •½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- •½ teaspoon whole nigella seeds (kalonji)
- •½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
- •1 medium onion
- •2 cloves garlic
- •1½ pounds slim Japanese eggplants
- •2 medium tomatoes
- •1 cup chicken stock or water
- •1 teaspoon salt
- •⅜ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Pour the oil into a very large frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the asafetida and the urad dal. As soon as the dal turns a shade darker, add the mustard, cumin, nigella, and fennel seeds, in that order. When the mustard seeds begin to pop, a matter of seconds, add the onions. Stir and fry for a minute. Add the garlic and the eggplant. Stir and fry for 4-5 minutes or until the onions are a bit browned. Add the grated tomatoes, stock, salt, and cayenne. Stir to mix and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook about 20 minutes or until the eggplants are tender, stirring now and then.
30 min