An Invitation to Indian Cooking - Madhur Jaffrey [69]
1 tablespoon chopped Chinese parsley (coriander greens or cilantro)
1 fresh hot green chili, washed and finely sliced, or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Put chopped onion, garlic, and ginger in blender with 4 tablespoons of water and blend to a paste.
Break off cauliflower into small flowerets (see preceding recipe), not longer than 1 to 1½ inches, and not wider at the head than ½ to 1 inch. Wash in colander and leave to drain.
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed 10–12-inch pot over medium flame, pour in the paste from the blender, and add the turmeric. Fry, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Add the chopped tomato, parsley, and green chili or cayenne, and fry 5 minutes. If necessary, add 1 teaspoon of warm water at a time and stir to prevent sticking. Now put in the cauliflower, coriander, cumin, garam masala, salt, and lemon juice. Stir for a minute. Add 4 tablespoons warm water, stir, cover, lower flame, and allow to cook slowly 35 to 45 minutes (the tightly packed cauliflower heads take longer to cook). Stir gently every 10 minutes or so. The cauliflower is done when each floweret is tender with just a faint trace of crispness along its inner spine.
To serve: Follow suggestions of previous recipe.
Fried eggplants with sour green chutney
SERVES 6
1 packed cup chopped Chinese parsley (coriander greens or cilantro)
1 fresh hot green chili, washed and finely sliced, or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
8 ounces (1 container) plain yogurt
½ teaspoon salt (a little more if you need it; sometimes yogurt is more sour than at other times)
½ teaspoon roasted, ground cumin seeds
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Vegetable oil for deep frying
6 small, oval eggplants or 1 large one (eggplants come in so many sizes that after reading this recipe, I’m afraid you have to be your own judge about how many you need)
8 fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon black onion seeds (kalonji), if available
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE CHUTNEY
Put parsley and chili in blender with 3 tablespoons water and blend until smooth paste (about 1 minute). You may need to push parsley down a couple of times.
In a bowl, combine yogurt, salt, roasted ground cumin seeds, lemon juice, and the paste from blender. Cover and refrigerate green chutney until ready for use.
COOKING THE EGGPLANTS
Ten minutes before eating time, heat oil at a depth of 1½ to 2 inches in skillet, wok, or karhai over medium heat. While heating, wash and dry eggplants. If you have the small, oval ones, quarter them lengthwise, preserving the stem and the sepals. If you have a very large one, quarter it lengthwise and slice each quarter into ½-inch-thick pieces.
When shortening is very hot, add the fenugreek, fennel, onion, and cumin seeds. After 10 or 20 seconds, drop in as many eggplant pieces as the container will hold in one layer. Deep-fry each batch until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle each batch with salt and freshly ground pepper, and place in a warm dish. When the eggplant has fried, spoon one-quarter of the cold chutney over it and serve immediately. Serve the rest of the chutney on the side.
To serve: While the eggplant fries, I usually put all the rest of my dinner into serving dishes and bring them to the table. I bring the eggplant dish out last. This dish is usually served at meals along with other vegetables. It is very rarely the only vegetable at the table. Try it at a Sunday lunch along with Shrimp with Dill and Ginger, Rice with Frozen Black-eyed Peas, and green beans.
You can also cut the eggplant fairly small, insert toothpicks, and serve it with drinks.
Fried eggplants
SERVES 4
This dish is made best with the small young eggplants that are only 3 or 4 inches long. It is very simple, but cannot be prepared in advance. Ten minutes before you are to eat, excuse yourself and go cook the eggplants. Serve them crisp and piping