food talk
This plant will egg on appetite
Pushpesh Pant 

Baingan has always been our weakness. Bhartha is the recipe that has delighted us the most in its myriad incarnations — from robust Punjabi to the Cinderella-like Bihari chokha version. We can never say no to the Hyderabadi baghare or the Banarasi kalunji ke. The Kashmiri tsuk vangan or dakshini guttakaiya with peanuts have much to commend their distinct charms.

Bengali bhaja or beguni muscle in any such list. Some of our creative chef friends have treated us to caviar created with this vegetable, while others have tickled our palate with the Chinese garlic-sauce-draped recipe. This is not to mention the recipes that rely on the combo factor.

We thought we had eaten all varieties but as has been said before: "One lives to be surprised". This lady friend of ours pulled this baingani rabbit out of her pot. Ideally, this dish should be finished in an oven. It tastes almost the same even when slow cooked in the last five minutes covered in a thick- bottomed pan.

Ingredients

Round baingan 1 large

Tomatoes 200 g

(Peeled, scalded in boiling water, skinned and pureed)

Garlic Two to four cloves (peeled and crushed)

Bay leaf One

Cinnamon One-inch stick

Sugar 1 tsp

Dhaniya powder 1 tsp

Red chilly powder ½ tsp

Jeera powder ½ tsp

Haldi powder ½ tsp

Sonth powder ½ tsp

Processed cheese (grated) 200 g

Salt to taste

Olive oil/oil 2 tbsp

Method

Slice the baingan into ½-inch thick round slices. Sprinkle over with a little salt and keep aside to weep. Prepare the fresh tomato sauce by heating the olive oil in a pan and adding the bay leaf and whole spices to it. When these change colour, add the garlic and tomato puree. Add powdered spices, sugar and salt. Stir-fry for a minute or more till the raw smell is gone add half a cup of hot water, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer till sauce thickens to your preferred consistency.

Line a non-stick pan with a thin film of olive oil and pan grill the baingan slices in batches, pressing carefully with a wooden spatula. Lower the fried baingan slices in the sauce. Sprinkle over with grated cheese cover and simmer for three to four minutes. Add a pinch of mixed herbs or kasuri methi if you like. Uncover and slurp.

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