Minty Sweet and Sour Eggplant (Aubergine)

Submitted by Chef Kate

"An absolutely delightful canape or side dish with lamb or grilled fish from Madhur Jaffrey. It's easiest done with long, skinny Japanese eggplant, but it works equally as well with standard Italian eggplant, cut into half-circles. You can slice and broil the eggplant in advance and do the final touches just before you're ready to serve."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• To prepare the eggplant

• 2 1⁄2 lbs eggplants
• 6 -8 tablespoons peanut oil or 6 -8 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 -2 teaspoon kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper

• The Seasoning

• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon mint, fresh, very finely minced

directions

1. Preheat the broiler and position the rack on the top level.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush the foil with oil.
3. If using Japanese eggplants, slice on the diagonal 1/3 inch thick.
4. If using Italian eggplants, slice in half lengthwise, and then cut slices 1/3 inch thick.
5. Lay as many as will fit on the baking sheet and brush with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Broil until lightly browned.
7. Turn and repeat.
8. If you have more slices than will fit on one baking sheet, repeat the process until all slices have been browned.
9. Turn off broiler and pre-heat oven to 350°F.
10. Toast the cumin seeds in a small saute pan until they darken and give off an aroma.
11. Cool the seeds and place in a bowl with the rest of the seasoning ingredients.
12. Lay the eggplant slices in a baking dish in slightly over-lapping rows or concentric circles. Dribble or brush over each row the seasoning mixture until all slices are used.
13. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. (Result is a lovely casserole/gratin of eggplant to serve as a side.
14. In the alternative, place slices on baking sheet, brush with seasoning mixture and bake till mixture is absorbed. (Result is a canape which can be served on its own).
15. Beware--the aroma is so good you will be tempted to pick one up and eat it to the despair of your fingertips and tongue.
16. As a canape or a side, the eggplant can be served hot or at room temperature.

Reviews

[Paka1931]

I cut the salt too. I changed the cooking method and sauted the eggplant and spices until the eggplant was cooked. This was great. I loved the cumin, mint and lemon juice combination. I have 23 eggplants growing on my plants now so this will be a frequent at our table. Thanks.

 

[Sackville]

I liked this but found it a bit more faffy to prepare than I expected. It took a while for the first stage of baking the eggplant, by the time I cut it into 40 or 50 slices and then brushed each one with oil and turned them. You have to watch the eggplant carefully as well because it can go from brown to black pretty quickly. The topping was yummy though, no faults at all with the spicing. I found 1 Italian eggplant made just enough for the 2 of us as a side dish to lamb and potatoes. The eggplant and spices complimented the lamb nicely.

 

[FlemishMinx]

Delicious combination, and one I wouldn't have thought of before tasting this dish. It IS easy to prepare, as well. I made this in a shallow 1.5 L baking dish, and had three layers (this might be helpful for those who, as I did, have trouble deciding which dish to use, and how much spice mix to pour over each layer). Thanks for posting!

 

[echo echo]

I used plain old purple Italian eggplant; I didn't peel the eggplant. Despite the imposing list of 16 numbered instructions, this dish was actually pretty quick and easy to prepare. I did cut down on the salt quite a bit, but otherwise made it as directed. A tasty out-of-the-ordinary treat.

 

[Sharon123]

This is a delightful mix of sweet and sour. I enjoyed the flavors of cumin and mint with lemon and sugar, wow, a lovely dish. Thanks Kate!