Fried Eggplant

This is a very simple recipe wherein just the minimum spices are used to coat the eggplants, then covered with semolina or corn meal and fried till crisp which makes a succulent & tasty fry. The sweet & creamy flesh of the eggplant complements well with the spicy and crusty outside. In total it’s a satiating experience. Growing up we had fresh eggplants right from our kitchen garden and they tasted so good without any harsh fertilizer etc.
Everyone in my household loved this fry especially my grandpa, I remember him plucking the right and firm eggplants from the garden and my mom used to prepare this fry right away. The freshness of the eggplant made it more tasty! And my mom used to coat them with spices and set it aside for sometime till it absorbs all the spices. And just before frying she would sprinkle some rice powder and once again toss lightly and then deep fry. They were just too good and heavenly.
Now coming to this recipe, I don’t deep fry them, but the over all recipe ingredients are same except that I use corn meal or semolina for the encrusting/breading part, and since I shallow fry it I guess semolina or corn meal does a neat job giving it a nice crunchy and golden outside.



Recipe follows:

10 slices of Purple eggplant (cut into 1 cm thick slices)
1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust the chill powder accordingly)
½ tsp dhania/coriander powder
¼ tsp asafoetida/hing powder
Salt to taste
Few drops of luke warm water
½ cup of corn meal or semolina (for breading)
Oil for frying




Method:

1. Cut the eggplants into 1 cm thick slices and place them in cold & salted water. (Add about 1 tsp salt) for about 30 minutes. Salt helps to pull out all the bitterness from the eggplant.

2. Rinse the eggplants in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.

3. In a small bowl, add red chilli powder, coriander/dhania powder, asafoetida, salt and add few drops of Luke warm water and make a thick paste.

4. Take a wide mixing bowl, put in the eggplants and coat it with the thick paste thoroughly till they are completely coated all through. Set this aside for about 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Heat a tava/ griddle (I use a cast iron griddle which works great for shallow frying).
Drizzle few tsp of oil and coat it all through the griddle/tava.

6. Bread the eggplants evenly and place on the tava/griddle, drizzle 2 to 3 tsp of oil on top and fry on a medium low heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Flip carefully and fry the other side for another 4 to 5 minutes. (Fry on a medium to medium low heat and cooking time may vary) The eggplant has to be completely cooked through until it’s soft. Only then it will taste moist and creamy!

Serve as an appetizer or along side rice and dal!