Indian Eggplant with Fenugreek Leaves
Okay, as far as I am concerned, no vegetable is as sexy as an eggplant. No matter if they are egg-shaped and small, elongated and slender, or large and curvy, they are all voluptuous, filled with sweet, tender flesh that takes on flavors like nobody's business.
They are one of the best reasons for summer heat to exist, in my opinion. (Chilies, corn and tomatoes are three other reasons--I wilt in the heat, but I love summer because all the sexy vegetables love heat--and I love them.)
I like eggplants cooked just about any way you can name. But my favorite eggplant dishes are the ones from India. I love the combinations of garlic, spices, chilies and eggplant. There is just something about it that sets my tongue dancing.
So, I present for your delectation a recipe I made up last night. I was going ot use curry leaves with my eggplant, but I didn't have any, so I used fenugreek leaves instead. You can get them fresh or frozen in your local Indian market, where they will be marked methi leaves. You can also get them dried--they will be market Kasouri Methi or Quasori Methi.
This dish is wonderful--very easy to make, but with a complex set of flavors that are by turns sweet and fragrant, hot and spicy and bitter and musky.
A great combination.
Recipe (with links to my other eggplant recipes--which span the world from the Mediterranean to Thailand) and photos here.
They are one of the best reasons for summer heat to exist, in my opinion. (Chilies, corn and tomatoes are three other reasons--I wilt in the heat, but I love summer because all the sexy vegetables love heat--and I love them.)
I like eggplants cooked just about any way you can name. But my favorite eggplant dishes are the ones from India. I love the combinations of garlic, spices, chilies and eggplant. There is just something about it that sets my tongue dancing.
So, I present for your delectation a recipe I made up last night. I was going ot use curry leaves with my eggplant, but I didn't have any, so I used fenugreek leaves instead. You can get them fresh or frozen in your local Indian market, where they will be marked methi leaves. You can also get them dried--they will be market Kasouri Methi or Quasori Methi.
This dish is wonderful--very easy to make, but with a complex set of flavors that are by turns sweet and fragrant, hot and spicy and bitter and musky.
A great combination.
Recipe (with links to my other eggplant recipes--which span the world from the Mediterranean to Thailand) and photos here.