Masala fried brinjal
Eggplant, aubergine or better known here in South Africa as brinjal. Have you ever had to endure really badly cooked brinjal? Sometimes overcooked with a weird mushiness or still raw with an even weirder chewiness. Sometimes flavourless or drenched in flavours that don’t quite work... Yugh.
I've had many such experiences, with my own and other's cooking! Luckily this dish was not one of those experiences! This was cooked to perfection with an amazing combination of flavours! Wrap in a roti or have it as a side dish - it's packed full of yumminess!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp ingh/ asafoetida
- 1 tsp finely crushed or chopped red chilli
- ½ tsp crushed ginger
- ½ tsp crushed garlic
- 1 large brinjal, cut in thin slices
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp dhana jeeroo (coriander & cumin powder)
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 3 tsp gram flour (chickpea/chana flour)
- Handful of sesame seeds
- Handful of chopped coriander leaves (optional)
Method
- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Brinjals soak up a lot of oil initially, so don’t be alarmed at the amount of oil required. After it’s all cooked you can transfer the brinjal from the pan to a serving dish, leaving behind most of the oil.
- Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once these start to sizzle, add asafoetida.
- Then add red chilli, ginger and garlic, mixing these spices into the oil.
- Add sliced brinjal, salt, turmeric, dhana jeeroo and red chilli powder. Toss gently and allow to cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Once the brinjal has shrunk, sprinkle gram flour on the top and toss gently. Cook for 2-3 more minutes and then sprinkle sesame seeds over. You can also sprinkle some chopped coriander on the top.