A Must for Immature Palates!

Roasted Aubergines

My husband is not very fond of vegetables. He had never eaten aubergines un till I tried this recipe with roasted aubergines. So I guess this recipe is a must for immature palates!

Ingredients 

Large Aubergines - 3

Large Onions - 3 (coarsely chopped)

Large Vine Tomatoes - 3 (finely chopped)

Ginger - 1 inch piece  (finely chopped)

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Oil 2 - tbsp

Salt - 3 tspns or to taste

Chilli Powder - to taste

Fresh Coriander Leaves - One handful (finely chopped)

A wok to cook

Method

Pierce aubergines with a knife (piercing avoids bursting of aubergines in the oven). 

Bake them in the oven at 180 degree celsius/350 Fahrenheit/gas mark 4 for one and half to two hours while turning them around every half an hour (The skin should be crisp with soft pulp in the middle).  

Remove aubergines from the oven. Slit along the length and scoop all the pulp. Keep it aside. Do not worry if fine particles of roasted skin is in the pulp as it give a unique barbecue flavour to the final dish.

Heat oil in the wok and add cumin seeds. Add ginger when you can smell the aroma from cumin seeds or when cumin seeds turn light brown (10 seconds). Stir fry ginger for 10 seconds and add chopped onions. Stir fry onions till they are light brown in colour. Add chopped tomatoes along with salt and chilli powder. Cook on slow heat till tomatoes are cooked well and start leaving oil on the sides of wok. 

Add aubergine pulp and cook for 10 minutes until all juices from pulp dry. Switch off the heat and garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with nan bread, chapati or parathas.

Golden Tips for Beginners

Do not overcook onions. They should be light brown and crunchy. Onions cooked to light brown stage give sweet taste compared to bitter taste of dark brown stage.

Cumin Fried Rice

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Water - 2 cups

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Ghee/Clarified butter - 1/2 tbsp

Oil - 1/tbsp

A pan for cooking

Method:

Soak rice in water for 10 minutes. Gently rinse a few times to remove excess starch. Drain water and keep aside.

Add ghee and oil to pan and heat it on the hob. When oil is hot add cumin seeds and fry for 10 seconds until light brown in colour or until you can smell the earthy aroma. Add drained rice, water and salt. Bring it to boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until water has been absorbed by rice and has ‘al dente’ appearance. Cover with a lid and let it rest for 10 minutes. Loosen the rice with a fork and serve hot.

Shrimp Fry

Ingredients:

Uncooked Tiger Shrimps - 500 Grams

Garlic infused Olive Oil - 1tbsp

Soya Sauce - 1 tbsp

Lemon Juice - 1/2 tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Red Chili flakes to taste

A large pan to fry

Method:

Devein, wash and pat dry shrimps. Mix with all other ingredients and marinate for an hour. Pour marinated shrimps in a pan and shallow fry them until all water dries and they appear glossy. 

PS: There is no need to add any more oil as oil used for marination is enough to cook.

Basics First

Boiled Rice

Some Facts about Rice: 

Uncooked Rice can be stored for up to 5 years.

The aroma and texture of rice grains improves with age of rice. 

To avoid loss of nutrients, rice should be cooked in amount of water that it can absorb.

Ingredients:

Rice 1 Cup

Water 2 cups

A Pan for cooking
Salt - optional

Serves 2-3 depending on cup size
(One cup of uncooked rice equals 3 cups of cooked rice)

Hob Method:

Soak 1 cup of rice for 10 minutes in water. Gently rinse it a few times without breaking the grains to remove excess starch. Add 2 cups of water to the rice. Bring it to boil. Reduce heat once water starts boiling. Do not cover with a lid as water will overflow from the pan. Let it simmer on low heat until all water is absorbed and rice grains have “al dente” appearance. Remove from heat source, cover with a lid and let it rest for 10 minutes. Loosen the rice with a fork without breaking the grains. Serve with any gravy of your choice.

Microwave Method:

Soak and wash rice as above. Add rice and water to a microwavable container. Cook on full power (750w) for 10-12 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes while covered with a lid for 10 minutes. Loosen the rice with a fork and serve hot.