Post by kickingfrog on Feb 16, 2011 20:09:31 GMT
Rick Stein's aubergine curry with tomatoes, ginger and fennel seeds
If you can get them, use finger aubergine for this. They are shaped rather like a small courgette and hold their shape well during cooking. This is a simple curry but interesting to me, as it uses a lot of fennel seeds, a common flavour in Bangladeshi food. Incidentally, they call them aniseed there, but they're not, because I wandered into a kitchen in Sylhet and tried them. All through India, as indeed in some Indian restaurants in the UK, sugar-coated fennel seeds are offered at the end of a meal as a breath-freshener and digestive.
Serves 6
600g aubergine, ideally Asian finger aubergine
½ tsp salt
150ml vegetable oil
40g peeled ginger, roughly chopped
40g garlic, roughly chopped
2 green cayenne chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds, freshly ground
½ tsp turmeric powder
400g chopped tomatoes, fresh or from a can
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp each of fresh coriander and mint, chopped
Top and tail the aubergine and cut in half lengthways. If using larger, Mediterranean-style aubergine, then cut each one across in half and then each piece lengthways into 6 or 8 wedges. Toss them with half a teaspoon of salt and set aside in a colander for 10 minutes.
Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Pour the oil into a shallow dish. Brush the aubergine pieces, a few at a time, with oil, put them in the frying pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until richly browned. Cooking the aubergine in this way helps prevent them from absorbing too much oil, which would make the finished dish greasy. Set aside in a bowl and repeat with the remaining aubergine.
Put the ginger, garlic and chilli into a mini food processor with 2-3 tbsp water and grind to a smooth paste. Put 2 tbsp of the remaining oil into the frying pan and add the cumin and fennel seeds. Leave them to sizzle for a few seconds, then add the ginger and garlic paste and leave this to fry for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the coriander and turmeric and fry for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, black pepper, 3 tbsp water and half a teaspoon of salt. Cover and leave to simmer for 8-10 minutes, until reduced and thickened slightly.
Return the fried aubergine slices to the pan and stir well to coat in the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in the fresh coriander and mint and serve.
• Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey (BBC Books, £25)
(The Guardian)
**************
If you can get them, use finger aubergine for this. They are shaped rather like a small courgette and hold their shape well during cooking. This is a simple curry but interesting to me, as it uses a lot of fennel seeds, a common flavour in Bangladeshi food. Incidentally, they call them aniseed there, but they're not, because I wandered into a kitchen in Sylhet and tried them. All through India, as indeed in some Indian restaurants in the UK, sugar-coated fennel seeds are offered at the end of a meal as a breath-freshener and digestive.
Serves 6
600g aubergine, ideally Asian finger aubergine
½ tsp salt
150ml vegetable oil
40g peeled ginger, roughly chopped
40g garlic, roughly chopped
2 green cayenne chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds, freshly ground
½ tsp turmeric powder
400g chopped tomatoes, fresh or from a can
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp each of fresh coriander and mint, chopped
Top and tail the aubergine and cut in half lengthways. If using larger, Mediterranean-style aubergine, then cut each one across in half and then each piece lengthways into 6 or 8 wedges. Toss them with half a teaspoon of salt and set aside in a colander for 10 minutes.
Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Pour the oil into a shallow dish. Brush the aubergine pieces, a few at a time, with oil, put them in the frying pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until richly browned. Cooking the aubergine in this way helps prevent them from absorbing too much oil, which would make the finished dish greasy. Set aside in a bowl and repeat with the remaining aubergine.
Put the ginger, garlic and chilli into a mini food processor with 2-3 tbsp water and grind to a smooth paste. Put 2 tbsp of the remaining oil into the frying pan and add the cumin and fennel seeds. Leave them to sizzle for a few seconds, then add the ginger and garlic paste and leave this to fry for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the coriander and turmeric and fry for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, black pepper, 3 tbsp water and half a teaspoon of salt. Cover and leave to simmer for 8-10 minutes, until reduced and thickened slightly.
Return the fried aubergine slices to the pan and stir well to coat in the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in the fresh coriander and mint and serve.
• Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey (BBC Books, £25)
(The Guardian)
**************