Melanzane Parmigiana

 

A classic Italian dish made with Aubergine or brinjal. It is almost like a lasagna but the pasta is replaced by Aubergine and the white sauce by cheese.

Ingredients:

Aubergine / Bhartha baingan - 750 gms

Tomato - 500 gms

Garlic - 2 pods

Salt

Red chilli flakes

Basil leaves - 4

Sugar - 1 pinch

Tomato ketchup 😉 - 1 tbsp

Olive oil - 2 tbsp 

Cheese - 250 gms

Method:

Cut the aubergine into thick 1 cm rounds and apply salt lightly on both sides. Keep aside for 1 hour. Then use a towel to squeeze out the extra water. Grill on a hot pan till lightly brown.

To make Tomato sauce:

Hear olive oil and fry the finely chopped garlic. Add the chopped tomato, salt, red chilly flakes, basil leaves and cook till the tomato becomes mushy. Add the tomato ketchup and sugar. Mix well and once cool, make a smooth purée. 

Layering and baking:

Take an oven proof dish and apply a thin layer of tomato sauce. Place the grilled aubergine and now add more tomato sauce. Add a thick layer of grated cheese. Next a layer of aubergine tomato sauce and cheese.

Repeat till you finish your stock of grilled melanzane, sauce and cheese.

Cover with aluminium foil.

Bake at 180 C for 45 minutes.

Aglio Olio / Pasta with Olive Oil and Garlic

The simplest of all pasta. How can a recipe be so easy to make and taste so luxurious?
Aglio = Garlic
Olio = Oil
This basic recipe has no vegetables added, but when they serve the same in restaurants either Mushrooms or Broccoli is added. How can explain the exorbitant cost otherwise?!

Ingredients for 1 person:
Pasta (preferably Spaghetti) - 150 gms
Olive Oil - 5 tbsp
Garlic chopped - 1 heaped tbsp
Chilly flakes - 1 tsp
Holy Basil to garnish (optional)

Method:
Boil the pasta in heavily salted water till cooked.
Warm the olive oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and add the garlic.
Once garlic sizzles and starts turning golden, add the chilly flakes.
Add the (cooked and) drained pasta and mix well.
Serve garnished with chopped basil leaves.

A side of crusty bread will soak up the beautiful oil!!

Andra Brinjal Chutney / Vankaya Pachadi

We live in Kerala, the land of keram or Coconut. And for us chutney always has coconut as the chief ingredient. When my neighbour, Mrs.Vidya Sundaresh Kamath shared a portion of her brinjal chutney without coconut, I was hooked!

These are Corona times and grating coconut is a chore I would gladly avoid!

We enjoyed this chutney both for breakfast with dosa and for lunch with hot rice.

Ingredients:

Brinjal - 1 medium

Channa dal/ kadala paripp - 1 tbsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Dry Red chilli - 3 

Green chilly - 2

Coriander leaf - 6 stalks with leaves

Tamarind - small ball

Garlic - 2 cloves

Salt

Tempering:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Dry red chilly - 1, broken

Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Method:

Toast the brinjal on an open flame till the skin chars and the insides soften.

Dry fry the dals and red chilli on low flame, till the dals turn slightly brown.

 Peel the brinjal carefully.

First grind the green chilly, garlic, brinjal, tamarind with the coriander leaf.

Then add the salt, dals and red chilly.

Grind to a smooth paste. Use minimum water.

 Splutter the mustard, red chilly and curry leaf in the oil and add to the chutney.

Menaskai - Udupi style ripe mango in spicy curry

Ripe mango in spicy sweet gravy.
This dish is from the Madwa community of Udupi area, Karnataka, South India. It is Satvik (no onion, no garlic) and is served during 'sadya' at the Hanuman temple at Ernakulathappan Temple Complex during Rama Navami.

Recipe source: Mrs. Madwa Raj

Ingredients:
Ripe mango - 2
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Til seeds - 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1 Tbsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1 pinch
Dry Red chilly - 4 to 6
Fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1 tbsp

For spluttering:
Refined oil / coconut oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilly - 1
Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Method:
Start by peeling the mango and removing the flesh from the seed.
Extract any left over pulp from the skin and discard it.
Add this pulp to the cut mango pieces.
Add in the mango seeds too.
Boil in ample water with salt and turmeric powder.

Dry fry the til seeds, till they pop. Keep aside.

Next fry the coriander seeds, urad dal, channa dal, jeera and red chilly in 1/2 tsp oil, till the dals turn red.

Add the fried seeds and dal with the til seeds.

Once the mango gets cooked, add the jaggery and mix well.

Grind the fried ingredients with fresh coconut.

Add the ground paste to the cooked mango.

Mix well and bring to a boil.
Splutter mustard, red chilly and curry leaf in the rest of the oil and add to the boiled curry.

Curry is ready.