Baked Eggplant Patties

Baked Eggplant Patties

Eggplant is also known as aubergines or brinjals. It is my all time favourite vegetable. Particularly, I love the dish my grandmother makes out of baby brinjals and a mix of spices. One veggie I was desperately looking for when I moved to UK was this. Unfortunately I could not find the varieties we could get in India but could only find the Spanish Aubergines. As the vegetable is so dear to me, I still wanted to give it a shot. I must admit that the simple dish turned out so bad that I made up my mind not to go for it again. But as I grew as a cook, learning bits and pieces here and there, I did manage to turn it to yummy dishes. As a matter of fact I find this variety quite convenient as you can just cut up one eggplant and that is enough for my husband and myself. Saves cutting and washing time.

This recipe particularly, is probably not entirely Indian but has the touch of Indian style of making it. I took inspiration from a recipe I saw on another website. I had added it to my favourites but lost it when my computer crashed. I also drew inspiration from one of the recipes I saw on Come Dine with Me. Here is my version of nice crispy eggplant patties.

1 big eggplant

3 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

4-5 tablespoons powdered rusk or crumble dressing or bread crumbs

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon coriander powder (dhania)

½ teaspoon jeera powder(cumin)

Salt

3-4 teaspoons olive oil

You will need a conventional oven, a baking tray lined with baking foil and also a plate on which you can spread cut eggplants.

Cut eggplant into rings or wheels, about half an inch thick. Sprinkle some salt on it. Put these on paper kitchen towel placed on a plate and cover with paper towels. Some people do this to remove bitterness from eggplant but I did it so that the moisture will help the crumbs stick to it. Leave this for about 30 minutes.



Finely chop garlic and mix with chilli flakes and olive oil. Keep aside for a while so the flavours infuse.



Preheat the oven to 200degC. Line a baking tray with baking foil and lightly grease the same with oil.

Mix the crumbs with dhania powder, jeera powder, turmeric powder and salt. Take each eggplant rings and dip in this mixture and coat both sides with spiced crumbs evenly.



Place in the baking tray and drizzle the prepared olive oil




Bake for 15 minutes and gently flip the eggplant rings to cook the other side. Drizzle some olive oil again



Bake for further 15 minutes.


Drizzle rest of the prepared olive oil and serve with tomato ketchup or raita of your choice.



If the patties are not crisp enough, bake for further few minutes.

This is a great starter and even a snack. Cut down on the chillies and it will even make a great finger food for your child. This is a low fat and nutritious snack.

Green Beans Poriyal

Green vegetables, way to go! As good as they may be for the health, some of them are so tasteless and not very tempting. I remember making a bowl full of green beans so my husband could eat it when I was travelling and on my return, I had to just bin it as it was untouched. There comes the necessity to constantly improve and make the goodies more palatable and enjoyable.

This recipe is not just nutritious, it comes with another advantage. If you are familiar with south Indian dishes, you may recognise 'Paruppu Usili', in english, I would say lentil crumble with a vegetable, usually beans. It does take a bit of effort to make it although not very challenging. Some days I just do not have the time for it but would like something closer and this recipe comes handy. I picked this up from my mom who had made it and I almost thought it was paruppu usili. With lesser effort, you get to enjoy a nutritious vegetable in a delicious form, how great is that!

Here is how I do it...

1 packet of green beans, finely chopped (roughly 275gm)
2 teaspoons cooking oil
3 tablespoons gram flour (besan)
1 teaspoon chilli flakes or substitute with chilly powder
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 sprig curry leaves(optional)
Salt to taste
Asafoetida (optional)

In a skillet or kadai, heat one teaspoon oil and add mustard seeds. Once it crackles, add mustard powder, curry leaves and asafoetida.



Add the green beans and desired amount of salt and cook until beans is done.



To check if done, try cutting through a piece using the ladle. If the beans readily cuts, its done, if not, cook longer.



Add the chilli flakes. I chose flakes as they would make the dish closer to paruppu usili, you could use chilli powder instead.



Add the gram flour. If you prefer, you could increase the quantity of the flour. Add another teaspoon oil and allow the gram flour to cook (until its raw smell goes off).



You will notice the vegetables and flour curling up and coming together. Serve.

Pinto Beans Curry

Little did I think that I will cook meals in a microwave in my living room. Well, there was trouble using the kitchen and we were left with no choice but to have my make shift kitchen. As difficult as it may have been, I found it very interesting and helpful as the need to eat well cooked home food pushed me hard to make great microwave food and the good news is I will share the recipes with you...

As ambitious as I was, I did not want to try cooking lentils/beans in a microwave. The next option was to resort to tinned beans and my husband suggested I buy pinto beans and that he likes it. In the past I have eaten a variety of beans but did not know their names. Hoping this would not taste very different from other beans like rajma (red kidney beans) and such, I ventured into this easy and quick recipe.

Just a little bit more on the pinto beans.. Pinto is suppose to mean painted or spotted. The bean has a mottled appearance before being cooked and turns pinkish upon cooking and also loses its spots. This is considered one of the common beans and also is most widely consumed in the USA. It is suppose to be a cheap source of complete protein. So here you go, healthy food with very little time and effort!

1 can pinto beans
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin powder (jeera powder)
1 teaspoon coriander seed powder (dhania powder)
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
3 tomatoes chopped
2 chopped green chillies
1/2 teaspoon chilly powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish
Microwave safe dish

Add oil to the dish and keep in microwave high for a minute.

Add the onions, green chillies and turmeric powder and cook for 3 minutes.



Add the tomatoes and cook with the dish covered for 3 minutes. Check if tomatoes have turned mushy, if not cook another 2 minutes.



Drain the beans and wash them (most people use it straight from can though) and add. Add about half cup water and cook covered for 10 minutes

Add the spice powders and salt and cook for two minutes.



Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.