Spicy Whole Baby Aubergines/Baby Potatoes
Serves 4 as a side dish
Prep: 15 minutes Total: 45 - 50 minutes
Vegetarian, vegan and those on a gluten-free diet
Serve with any dal dish, flatbread and rice
Ingredients:
12 baby aubergines
16 baby new potatoes
oil for deep frying
Spicy Baby Aubergines/Baby Potatoes served here with Gram Flour ‘Rotis’
Masala:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 medium onion, coarsely grated or chopped very finely
3 tablespoons chopped tomatoes, tinned or fresh
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1½ green chilli, deseeded and chopped
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon garam masala
handful of chopped coriander leaves
Method:
Remove the stalk of the aubergines, wash and pat dry with a clean tea towel.
Keeping each aubergine intact, slice lengthways in a cross from top of aubergine to about 1.5 cm from the bottom (stalk end). Set aside.
Peel the potatoes, keeping them whole wash and pat dry.
As with the aubergines, slice lengthways in a cross formation to about 1 cm from the bottom. Set aside.
Pour oil for deep frying in a wok up to a third way up from the bottom and heat on medium to hot heat.
Test the oil is hot enough by dropping a small amount of aubergine flesh in it. If it rises immediately, the oil is hot enough.
Gently place the aubergines in the hot oil on medium to high heat. Once they rise up, fry then for 5 minutes turning them over half way through.
Drain on kitchen paper.
Gently place the whole potatoes in the oil. Turn down the heat a touch and fry the potatoes for about 8 until light golden in colour. Drain on kitchen paper.
Whilst the vegetables are frying, make the masala. Heat the oil (butter or ghee) on medium heat until fairly hot (be careful with butter/ghee as these have lower smoking points). Add the cumin seeds and cloves and stir until they splutter (virtually immediately)
Turn the heat down to low/medium, add the onions and fry gently stirring occasionally until they soften.
Add the tomatoes, salt, turmeric, chillies, garlic, ginger stir. Continue to cook gently, ‘mashing’ the tomatoes until a paste like consistency forms. I use a potato masher.
Add the garam masala, stir and cook for a further minute or so or until the paste separates when a wooden spoon is dragged along the base of the pan.
Add a handful of chopped coriander, mix it through the paste and cook for a minute or two.
Place the fried vegetables into the masala, mix gently with two spatulas as when mixing a salad.
Place the lid on the pan, turn down the heat to a low/medium setting and allow to the steam to combine the masala and the vegetables for a couple of minutes.
Turn off heat and enjoy.