If the name ‘Baigan anamika’ (nameless eggplant) suggests that it is self-concocted, you’re right. The inspiration I got for this dish was the oppressive heat this summer! It was very hot the other day and I had eggplants in the fridge and I wanted something ‘fresh/light’ for everyone. So I thinly sliced them, put a bunch of ingredients that reminded me of nice light smells- saunf (fennel), mint, thinly sliced ginger, spring onions, tomatoes (and a few others to round out the recipe). Since the eggplant was flimsy, I added the final masala to it and tossed it like pasta!
Ingredients:
– 6 cloves garlic, chopped
– 1 inch ginger, shopped
– 1t cumin
– 2t fennel (saunf)
– 1 small onion
– 1t garam masala
– 1t turmeric (haldi)
– 5 green chilies
– 4T mint (pudina), chopped
– 6 eggplants, thinly sliced and pan fried
– 2 medium tomatoes
– 4 sprigs of green onions
Method:
Saute the onions till golden brown. add ginger, green chilies and garlic and saute for another 5 minutes. Add the fennel, cumin, turmeric and saute for a minute or so and add the tomatoes. Saute the mixture till the water is almost gone and the mixture starts to separate from the pan. Add the green onion, mint and garam masala, turn the heat off and mix it all in. Either mix the fried eggplant slices in and toss like a pasta or roll the masala (spice mixture) inside strips of the eggplant and put a toothpick in it and serve as an appetizer. Sounds like a great idea to me!
