Receta Alu Baigan - Golden potatoes and eggpants in a spicy tomato sauce
This melt in your mouth gently spiced concoction that simply melts in your mouth, did not start out with such delicious aspirations. In fact, it started out as a lone eggplant, occupying some space in the refrigerator. I asked my helper to cut it into wedges and keep this in a zip lock bag for me. This is something that she does on occasion, although her knife skills are really, really appalling, there is not too much damage one can do cubing a large eggplant.
What was an adaptation of my mother-in-law’s recipe which she makes with eggplants very finely diced and loads of tomatoes and just the right amount of potatoes, not unlike a Indian version of a caponata had become a chunkier and very comforting dish in my house that I make to celebrate late summer. What I do retain from my mother-in-law’s version is her generous use of tomatoes, I mean seriously how can there possibly be too much tomatoes in any dish especially if we are using eggplants.
Alu Baigan or Potatoes with Eggplants is a very Indian comfort dish, that is served with freshly made Indian flatbreads or chapatis. I have been known to serve this with well toasted sourdough bread, whole wheat of course…
Alu Baigan or potatoes with eggplants is quite a classic dish, there are several variations of this dish. I have for some reason never really tried it, but then as they say there is always a first time. This recipe after the first time visits me frequently every summer.
Here is how I did it,
Alu Baigan – Golden potatoes and eggpants in a spicy tomato sauce
Ingredients
- 2 medium sized, fresh eggplants, cut into 1 to 2 inch wedges
- 2 medium sized potatoes, cut into wedges to match the eggplants
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin-coriander powder
- 4 tomatoes, diced
- 2 green chilies, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon sugar (optional)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
Instructions
Rub the potatoes and eggplants with half the salt and turmeric and set aside in separate bowls.
Heat the oil and add in the cumin seeds and wait until they begin to sizzle, this will take a few seconds.
Add in the ginger-garlic paste and the potatoes and stir well for 1 to 2 minutes.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes, until the potatoes are almost cooked and a pale golden yellow.
Add in the eggplants and mix well. Cook on medium high heat for about 5 minutes until the eggplants and potatoes are mixed well with the spices.
Add in most (reserve about 1 tomato) of the chopped tomatoes, green chilies, salt and sugar and stir well.
Cover and cook the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.
Remove the cover and mix well, the eggplants should be soft and cooked through. Cook until all the liquid is fairly dry and the mixture is sizzling at the edges of the pan.
Add in the remaining tomato and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the tomato is soft and melting.
Mix well and add in the cilantro and serve with a flatbread of your choice.
2.0
http://cookinginwestchester.com/2010/01/alu-baigan-golden-potatoes-and-eggpants.html