Recipe - Roasted Eggplant Tomato Relish (Biagan Bharta

Stephen Ceideburg
1 md Eggplants (1 pound)
One half teaspoon + tablespoon mild vegetable oil
One fourth teaspoon Mustard seeds
One fourth teaspoon Cumin seeds
One half cup Chopped onion
1/8 teaspoon Turmeric
1 Fresh hot green chile,
minced
One half cup Peeled, chopped tomato
One fourth teaspoon Curry powder
One half teaspoon Salt, or to taste
One half teaspoon Sugar
Chopped fresh cilantro,
for garnish

This expensive restaurant dish is easy to make at home. Although it is
found in both northern and southern India, it is prepared very differently
in each region. The following recipe is the northern version.

Brush eggplant all over with One half teaspoon oil. Preheat the broiler, prepare
a charcoal grill or place the eggplant directly over a gas burner. Cook,
turning occasionally, until the skin is completely charred and the pulp is
soft, about 30 minutes. Let cool briefly. Slit open and scoop pulp out onto
a cutting board. Chop coarsely.

Heat remaining oil in a heavy skillet over mediumhigh heat. Add mustard
and cumin. When seeds pop (takes about 1 minute), add onion, turmeric and
chile. Stir and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato, eggplant and curry powder.
Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 6
minutes. Season to taste with salt and sugar. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Variation: In southern India, eggplant is roasted, peeled and allowed to
cool. Yogurt (about 1 cup per 1pound eggplant) is stirred in to make a
creamy mixture, then the dish is seasoned with turmeric, mustard and plenty
of fresh curry leaves. It is served as a cooling salad alongside spicy
dishes.

PER SERVING: 155 calories, 3 g protein, 20 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat (1 g
saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 548 mg sodium, 7 g fiber.

Laxmi Hiremath writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, 6/24/93.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini