Badanekai Hasi Gojju ( Sweet and sour eggplant dish)

Writing this blog after a long hiatus! Feels good to be posting a traditional family recipe that my mom and her sisters consistently make. It s a quick and easy way to make Baingan without the fuss of oil, frying etc…this tangy sweet and sour recipe will tickle your taste buds for sure!

Ingredients: Serves 4.

Eggplant

Rasam powder – 1 tbsp

Tamarind paste – 1 tsp

Jaggery – 11/2 inch cube

Shredded coconut

Green chillies – 3-4

Cilantroe

Curry leaves

Hing – 1 pinch

Oil and mustard for seasoning

Method: Slit a medium size eggplant into 4 pieces. Steam cook it for about 15 minutes. Once the vegetable becomes soft and mushy, drain the excess water and keep it aside. Squeeze the eggplant into small bite size pieces using your fingers.

In a separate bowl, using very little water, dissolve the jaggery. Add the tamarind paste, chilli powder to the jaggery water and mix this with the crushed vegetable.

(Tip: You can use the same water that is left behind from the vegetable after you steam it, so as to reatin the nutritional value. )

Then sprinkle the shredded cilantroe and coconut.

For the seasoning, heat oil in a shallow pan. Add  mustard seeds till they splutter. Then add the curry leaves, slit green chillies and a pinch of hing. Garnish over the eggplant and toss it in gently. Enjoy with rice or rotis!

Egg fried rice with brown rice

Planning meals on a special diet becomes increasingly difficult, especially for a foodie like me who needs variety all the time.  Ofcourse it has to be a healthy meal and I don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. Phew! Hard to satisfy all the requirements 🙂 Thats the reason I decided to make fried rice for lunch today! Its a one pot balanced meal. I added scrambled eggs for the protein fix and made it with brown rice. If you don’t eat eggs toss in some stir fried tofu or edamame beans. Of course I had to Indianize it to make it more spicy by adding chopped green chillies! You can add whatever vegetables takes your fancy bell peppers, broccoli, corn, mushrooms, peas,carrots etc.

Ingredients : Serves 2

1.5 cup of brown rice cooked with 2 and 1/4 cups of water

2 cups of mixed vegetables (carrots, beans, peas, bell peppers)

1 cup of chopped scallions/ spring onion

1/2 cup of chopped onions

1 tbsp green chilli sauce or sriracha sauce

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 green chilli finely chopped ( more if you want more heat)

Salt to taste

2 eggs scrambled separately

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

Heat the oil on high in a wok.  Add the white part of the scallion, onions, chillies and garlic.  Once the onions turn translucent, add the vegetables and saute them till they are three fourth cooked. Add the green chilli sauce. Now add the brown rice, soy sauce, pepper, eggs and salt. Mix well. Add the rest o f the scallions at the end.