This book makes me cook: Kathrikai Bhaji (Aubergine Fritters)

Finding this month’s book in my local library proved to be some thing of a task for me. Finally I managed to get the book called for me from another library.

The book chosen for this month was Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair. There are essentially 6 stories, involving – of course 6 women, tied together by the central story of Akhila, who is a single woman at 45 yrs, having worked hard to keep her family (mother, 2 brothers & a sister) afloat after the sudden demise of her father. She is trying to find the answer to the question – does a woman need a man to cope with life? The other 5 women, her co travelers in the train to Kanyakumari, try to help her arrive at the answer by sharing their own life story with her.

The first thing that struck me about the writing was the extensive use of adjectives & similes, specially in the initial chapters. Although the vivid description of a railway station & platform left me feeling nostalgic, as if I was standing on that very platform, some times I felt she had delved into too much of a detail, which took away the spotlight from the story.

The story itself did not work for me either. I could not identify or even empathise with any of the characters. Their discontent towards life sounded hollow to me, except may be for Akhila & Mari. Even in the case of Akhila, there were some aspects which were beyond my understanding. It might be that I couldn't really appreciate the position she was in, but that is where I thought the writer had failed to make me feel for Akhila. For example, I saw no reason for her to put up with her opportunist & ungrateful sister while she pretended to be the one making sacrifices!

As for the food part, I did not find too many culinary references and being the serious kind of book that it was, no dish sprung to mind immediately. But there was the mention of Kathrikai Bhaji, which caught my attention and so that is what I made.

Kathrikai Bhaji (Aubergine Fritters)

Serves 2 as a side

Ingredients

• 2-3 Aubergines, cut into thin slices
• 1/2-3/4 cup Besan (Chickpea flour)
• 2 tblsp chopped onion
• 2 tblsp finely chopped fresh coriander
• 1 tsp Red Chilli powder
• salt
• Oil for frying

Method:

Combine all ingredients except for the aubergine slices and oil in a mixing bowl. Prepare a medium thick batter (slightly thinner than Dosa batter) using a little water.

Heat the oil and then lower the flame.

Dip the slices of aubergine into the prepared batter and fry in the hot oil turning them every now & then. Remove them out of the oil when they turn light brown and are crisp. Drain on a kitchen towel.

Serve hot on their own as a perfect evening snack with Tea/Coffee or as a side with the meal.

My Notes: This was the first time I has included chopped onions in the batter for the fritters, only because they were mentioned in the book. I thought they might add an extra crunch but there was no real difference, so its perfectly OK to skip them.

On another note, hope all of you had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year!

Baingan ka Bharta (Roasted Aubergine Stir Fry)

Does that translation do justice to the good old Baingan ka Bharta? What do you think? Is there any other name by which it is known? I would really like to know. I tried to google for it and found that everyone has their own term. So, there, I add mine to the lot - Roasted Aubergine stir fry!

Now, Brinjal/Aubergine/Eggplant is a very dicey (pun?) veggie, meaning some love it, some loathe it and some don't care and its very hard to determine which category, a given person would be in. It can be assumed that most people will not like Karela (Bittergourd) but the same can not be said about Aubergine. While my bro D is a self confessed Brinjal hater, I have met people who can have it for all the 3 meals in a single day. Me? I don't mind having it once in a while and actually like it too.

Especially this Bharta. There are two ways a Baingan Bharta can be made. Both of them involve roasting the Aubergine first. The main difference in the 2 methods is that in the first, the Aubergine is not cooked again once it is roasted, whereas the second involves cooking it again for a few minutes along with spices and other ingredients. I prefer the second type and will be presenting it here in this post. The first method will also be posted some time in the future.

Coming to roasting the Aubergine, there are two ways to do it. Either on the stove top or in the oven. While the stove top method is the one that yields the best result and is quicker, the oven takes a very long time and the smoked taste which is very important for the Bharta is not achieved. But again for the second method of making the Bharta, where the Aubergine is going to be cooked again after roasting, this doesn't really matter. But the oven has another drawback namely the time factor. It really takes a long time, almost an hour or even more to get it roasted. But this might be the only option for people with an electric plate!

I alternate between the two roasting methods depending on the amount of time I have on hand, my mood and whether I have just cleaned the gas hob (The roasting makes a lot of mess!)

Baingan Ka Bharta

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 Large Aubergine (Fat as well as Long!)
• 1 Medium sized onion
• 1 Medium sized Tomato
• 1/2 tblsp oil
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 6-8 Curry Leaves
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida (Hing)
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp Goda Masala (Maharashtrian Spice Mix, alternatively you can use this Sambhar Powder)
• Salt
• Fresh Coriander leaves, chopped

Method:

Roast the Aubergine

• For the oven, apply some oil to the surface of the Aubergine, keep it on a baking tray and place this in the oven at 220 deg C. No need to pre heat as the Aubergine will get cooked even while the oven is heating up. Check on it after about 20-25 min and turn if required. It should be completely done in another 20-25 min or so.
• For the stove top method, light the the gas burner and place the Aubergine directly on the flame. Keep changing the sides to expose each part to the flame until the skin is well charred and starts to peel off.

Once the Aubergine is roasted. the skin will peel off easily. Remove the skin and roughly chop it and keep aside till needed.

Heat the oil in a Pan and add the mustard seeds and Cumin seeds.

Once they splutter, add the curry leaves, Asafoetida and Turmeric powder.

Next, reserve about 1 tblsp of chopped onions and add the remaining to the tempering and saute.

When the onions turn translucent, add the chopped tomatoes, again reserving 1 tblsp of it.

Cook till the tomatoes turn mushy and then add the Goda Masala or any other spice mix that you are using (I prefer the Sambhar Powder) and the red chilli powder. Mix well and cook for another minute.

Add in the roasted & chopped Aubergine along with the salt and mix well. Cover and cook for 3-4 min on a low flame.

Remove the cover and add the reserved onion & tomatoes along with chopped coriander leaves. Give it a stir and Switch off the flame.

Serve hot with Chapatis/Rotis.

Bharli Vangi

Translated in English it means Stuffed -

a) Brinjal - If you are in India

b) Aubergine - If you are in UK

c) Eggplant - If you are in USA

I am really baffled by this. How can the name of a vegetable change so much in the same language(English) as you change countries?

All my life I had referred to them as Brinjals. So when I moved to London and came across 'Aubergines' I thought these might be of a different variety, maybe the long, slender ones were called that. But I found that its the same old Brinjal with a fancy new name!

Another example is the Courgette. Thats Zucchini for you in the US. I have never seen this in India at my local market, so I don't know what it is called over there. I had once bookmarked a recipe to try, which called for Zucchini. I went & searched for it everywhere, not knowing exactly how it looked. While looking for it I passed the 'Courgette' shelf more than a few times but came back home without any 'Zucchini' ! I googled for its image and thats when I found out that they were the same!

Since I have always known it as Brinjal, I will continue with the same name in this post :)

Brinjal is not a favourite with many people. Same was the case with me, but stuffed-Brinjal was always an exception. Even D, who was a chronic Brinjal hater did not mind the stuffed variety. Ofcourse he only had the 'rassa' (gravy) and never touched the Brinjal!

This recipe is considered to be a traditional Maharashtrian dish, made differently by each household. I have never had the same tasting Stuffed-Brinjal at any two places. Here I am sharing my mother's recipe.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 4-6 Small Brinjals (Aubergine/Eggplant)
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 Tomato, finely chopped
• 2 tblsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 6-8 Curry leaves
• pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
• 1 tsp Haldi (Turmeric Powder)
• 2-3 tsps Goda Masala
• 1-2 tsp Red Chili powder
• Salt

Method:

Mix the chopped onions, tomatoes, 1/2 tsp Haldi, Goda Masala, Red Chili powder and salt to form the stuffing for the Brinjals and keep aside.

Remove the crown of the Brinjals and make cross sectional slits and keep them immersed in water to prevent discolouration.

Stuff these Brinjals with the prepared Onion-Tomato Masala.

Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter the mustard seeds and add the curry leaves, hing and haldi. Put in the stuffed Brinjals and any remaining Onion-Tomato Masala and fry for sometime.

Add 1/2 cup of water or enough to cook the Brinjal. Cover and cook until the Brinjal is cooked. Sprinkle finely chopped Coriander leaves and turn off the flame.

This bhaji tastes best with Bhakri but can also be had with Chapatis/Phulkas. The best way to have it is by mixing some curd with it. The cool & sour curd compliments the spicy Bhaji very well.

Note:

Another variation to this recipe includes adding roasted crushed peanuts. This adds a lovely flavour and also helps in binding the gravy together.

The Goda Masala used here is the traditional Maharashtrian Masala Powder, the recipe for the same will follow soon. In absence of this masala any other all purpose masala can be used but the taste will certainly differ.

I am sending to this to Srivalli's Curry Mela.