tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019364330275165959.post-61569934006263269272007-09-15T12:38:00.000-04:002008-01-06T12:03:31.179-04:002008-01-06T12:03:31.179-04:00<div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="275" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Eggplant2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This past week, I’ve seen some of my blogger friends, <a href="http://winterskieskitchenaglow.blogspot.com/search/label/Eggplant">here</a> and <a href="http://rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-sexiness-violet.html">here</a>, singing the praises of the eggplant. Words such as elegant, royal and yes, sexy were used to describe this (<em>fruit)</em> vegetable.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="275" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Eggplant5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />As for me, my relationship with eggplants has been fraught with feelings of hatred, frustration and, and, wait for it – moments of selective <em>loving!</em> All this has led to the title of <a href="http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_affairs?id=56528879">this week’s column</a> and this post: <strong>An Undefined Relationship</strong>. And so the column begins: <em>“If I said to you that I don’t like something and that I can only eat it cooked 3 ways and yet I purchase it every week at the market, you’d have to conclude that I really <strong>do</strong> like it wouldn’t you? If you know the answer, tell me because I’m not sure.”</em> You can <a href="http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_affairs?id=56528879">click here to read the column</a> in its entirety.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="275" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Eggplant6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />To date, there are only 3 ways I’d eat eggplants, also known to us as bolangers, bigan and aubergines. First as a choka: stuffed with slivers of garlic throughout, fire roasted and mashed. To this mixture is added, fire roasted tomatoes and seasoned with green onions, hot chilies, salt and a drizzle of oil. Some of you may recognize this dish by another name and with perhaps a few added ingredients as bigan bharta.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="280" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Insertgarlic4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="300" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Roasting3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="300" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Roasted2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="300" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Choka4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="300" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Chokaroti2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Second, I like to have eggplants as a dry curry, an inspiration I got from <a href="http://thespicewholovedme.blogspot.com/2007/05/gujarati-series-ringan-no-ohloh-smoked.html">here</a> and adapted to suit my taste.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="300" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Curry3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />And finally, I eat eggplants as biganee – thinly sliced eggplants coasted in a spicy split-pea mixture and fried. The biganee is traditionally served with a green mango sour, chutney or achar.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="225" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Biganee9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />You may ask why only these 3 ways. In the first 2 instances, it is all about the flavour the fire roasting imparts and the almost pureed texture. In the case of the biganee, the slices are then and the split-peas batter and along with the sour, chutney or achar, masks the notion that eggplants are involved :)<br /><br />Last week, I saw this recipe for Eggplant Croquettes on <a href="http://melecotte.blogspot.com/2007/09/crocchetta-di-melanzaneeggplant.html">Chris of Mele Cotte</a>. I made them and in no time they disappeared from the table. Delicious. Instead of baking the eggplants in the oven, you guessed it, I fire-roasted them. As delicious as this is, it is still a <em>little</em> too much eggplant for me so I can’t have more than one at a time but let me tell you, people who love eggplants – this is a must-have, must-try dish. I served mine with a green mango chutney.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img height="300" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" src="http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/cynthiaanelson/Cutlets6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Cynthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01565340772467109199noreply@blogger.com