Fried Eggplant Slices (Indian)
Why I Love This Recipe
FEATURING: Eggplant.
This recipe, which is one of Jim's go-to recipes when we have lots of eggplant, comes from one of our favourite indian cooks: Madhur Jaffrey. It's a great side dish that goes well with all your favourite indian dishes. We never use as much oil as the original recipe calls for but we do add water instead to compensate/steam the slices.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 medium aubergine (about 550g/1¼lb)
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼–½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
6–8 lemon wedges, to serve
Directions
Cut the aubergine lengthways into quarters, and then cut, crossways, into 1cm (½in) thick wedges and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the salt and pepper, turmeric and cayenne. Sprinkle this over the aubergine wedges and mix well.
Put about 1cm (½in) oil in a 20–23cm (8–9in) frying pan and set over medium heat (we put a LOT less- usually 2-3 tablespoons then we add more water once we put the eggplants in).When the oil is hot, put in as many aubergine slices as the pan will hold in a single layer. Fry until reddish-gold on one side. Turn the slices over and continue frying until similarly coloured. Remove with a slotted spoon and spread out on a plate lined with kitchen paper (given that we use less oil, we just set the eggplant aside on a plate). Keep warm as you fry the rest of the aubergine slices.
Cook the remaining aubergine in the same manner, adding more oil if needed. Serve with the lemon wedges.
