Having discussed the fear of foods in the last post, I feel the urge to share this recipe of this wonderfully tasty Eggplant and Potato Curry.
Here's what you need:
A long eggplant (around a cup of an inch sized cubes)
A medium sized potato (below 1 cup of an inch sized cubes)
2 Tbsp (a little more is better) of Oil (I used sesame seeds oil)
Half a tsp of fenugreek (methi) seeds (I soaked and dried mine)
Half a tsp of dill (suva) seeds (Soaked and dried again)
A tsp of finely chopped ginger and another tsp of finely chopped garlic and half a deseeded green chilli and half a tsp of paprika.
Ama Spice Mix and Sendha Namak
Lemon and Corriander leaves
And here's what you do:
Heat the oil in a pressure cooker or kadai. Add the fenugreek and dill seeds to the hot oil followed by ginger and garlic, chilli, mix for a few minutes. Reduce flame to medium if required and add the Ama Spice Mix to the oil.
As the aroma of the spice mix gets stronger, add first the washed and drained potatoes, mix to coat and cook for a few minutes then add the eggplants. Mix again. Make sure the flame is not too high.
Add the salt and cover with a plate filled with water or pressure lid.
When you see a lot of bubbles on the water in the plate and the water has started evaporating, remove the plate to check if potatoes are soft enough, add paprika and mix.
Reduce flame, mix and cook for a few minutes.
Serve hot with a few drops of fresh lemon juice and garnished with corriander leaves.
I like to serve it with a semi-dry dal like Gajar aur Turai walli Moong Dal or Suva Moong Dal. To make it a complete and balanced meal with all 6 ayurvedic tastes well represented.
And now here's why we do what we do:
Eggplants are full of water and known to be bitter in taste, They are thus prized during the dry summers (the bitter taste has a cooling effect on the body), but they are also astringent and post digestion, their vipaka or the effect experienced by the colon is said to be pungent so they have a heating and drying effect on the joints and tissues.
Due to this they are often combined with potatoes which tend to provoke Vata and also cooked in a generous quantity of oil which provokes Kapha and Pitta.
Complex to understand? Here's how it is explained::
"From the perspective of Ayurveda, edible Nightshades all are heating in nature, except for the white potato, explaining their inflammatory activity. This is coupled with the fact that all of them have a pungent and/or sour post digestive effect (vipaka). Thus, during digestion the colon experiences the physiological consequences of the sour and pungent tastes, with the pungent vipaka, being both heating and dehydrating and provoking both vata and pitta doshas, and the sour vipaka, being both heating and moisture-promoting, provoking the kapha and pitta doshas.
Nightshades are therefore said by many authorities to be aggravating for all three doshas."
I used sesame seed oil for its warming quality plus because it's the best oil to balance excess Vata Dosha - can be easily aggravated by consuming a lot of white potatoes. The coolness and dryness of potatoes also helps control pitta from being vitiated too much. The pungent and bitter taste of Eggplants is further enhanced by the fenugreek and dill seeds used in tempering. I also do not salt or soak eggplants as that kills the flavour.
In case you are still confused and wondering what all this means for the individual served this tasty dish, just listen to your body and follow it. We eat with all our senses, when you see the food and smell it, your eyes and nose have allready messaged your brain about the qualities of the food item lying in front of you. The brain thus directs the body to get ready for digesting what you are going to eat. That sudden rush of salivation in your mouth is a special digestive juice getting ready to digest it. We call these cravings or hunger. And as the food enters the mouth, your tongue instinctively moves it around tasting every morsel while the teeth are chewing it away before the reflexes in your throat are gulping it down. Be passive here and let the body decide what to eat and when to stop.
This is certainly my go-to foods for those lazy summer days when you feeling lethargic or heavy and need something to Kickstart your tastebuds.
This dish is a flexible one and if you can't find the long (bartha) baingan, use the long and thin variety which has a more tender skin and sweeter flesh. I'd cut in slices and add eggplants towards the end when potatoes are almost cooked. I'd keep everything else same just skip the garlic and use asefotida instead.
Eggplants are one of those infamous vegetables that many fear or crave yet most of us fail to understand. They belong to the famously infamous 'nightshade family' alongside sweet and white potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, etc.
Why nightshade are so feared is interesting. Some say they contain poison, though in small quantities. 10kg of Eggplants for instance are said to contain nicotine equating to the amount contained in one cigarette.
Well, I don't smoke at all but still love eggplants. I eat them almost every time I can manage to get my hands on a good one without any guilt and thats not very young often.
So here's one of the many awesome ways to cook 'em.
So here's one of the many awesome ways to cook 'em.
Here's what you need:
A long eggplant (around a cup of an inch sized cubes)
A medium sized potato (below 1 cup of an inch sized cubes)
2 Tbsp (a little more is better) of Oil (I used sesame seeds oil)
Half a tsp of fenugreek (methi) seeds (I soaked and dried mine)
Half a tsp of dill (suva) seeds (Soaked and dried again)
A tsp of finely chopped ginger and another tsp of finely chopped garlic and half a deseeded green chilli and half a tsp of paprika.
Ama Spice Mix and Sendha Namak
Lemon and Corriander leaves
And here's what you do:
Heat the oil in a pressure cooker or kadai. Add the fenugreek and dill seeds to the hot oil followed by ginger and garlic, chilli, mix for a few minutes. Reduce flame to medium if required and add the Ama Spice Mix to the oil.
As the aroma of the spice mix gets stronger, add first the washed and drained potatoes, mix to coat and cook for a few minutes then add the eggplants. Mix again. Make sure the flame is not too high.
Add the salt and cover with a plate filled with water or pressure lid.
When you see a lot of bubbles on the water in the plate and the water has started evaporating, remove the plate to check if potatoes are soft enough, add paprika and mix.
Reduce flame, mix and cook for a few minutes.
Serve hot with a few drops of fresh lemon juice and garnished with corriander leaves.
I like to serve it with a semi-dry dal like Gajar aur Turai walli Moong Dal or Suva Moong Dal. To make it a complete and balanced meal with all 6 ayurvedic tastes well represented.
And now here's why we do what we do:
Eggplants are full of water and known to be bitter in taste, They are thus prized during the dry summers (the bitter taste has a cooling effect on the body), but they are also astringent and post digestion, their vipaka or the effect experienced by the colon is said to be pungent so they have a heating and drying effect on the joints and tissues.
Due to this they are often combined with potatoes which tend to provoke Vata and also cooked in a generous quantity of oil which provokes Kapha and Pitta.
Complex to understand? Here's how it is explained::
"From the perspective of Ayurveda, edible Nightshades all are heating in nature, except for the white potato, explaining their inflammatory activity. This is coupled with the fact that all of them have a pungent and/or sour post digestive effect (vipaka). Thus, during digestion the colon experiences the physiological consequences of the sour and pungent tastes, with the pungent vipaka, being both heating and dehydrating and provoking both vata and pitta doshas, and the sour vipaka, being both heating and moisture-promoting, provoking the kapha and pitta doshas.
Nightshades are therefore said by many authorities to be aggravating for all three doshas."
I used sesame seed oil for its warming quality plus because it's the best oil to balance excess Vata Dosha - can be easily aggravated by consuming a lot of white potatoes. The coolness and dryness of potatoes also helps control pitta from being vitiated too much. The pungent and bitter taste of Eggplants is further enhanced by the fenugreek and dill seeds used in tempering. I also do not salt or soak eggplants as that kills the flavour.
In case you are still confused and wondering what all this means for the individual served this tasty dish, just listen to your body and follow it. We eat with all our senses, when you see the food and smell it, your eyes and nose have allready messaged your brain about the qualities of the food item lying in front of you. The brain thus directs the body to get ready for digesting what you are going to eat. That sudden rush of salivation in your mouth is a special digestive juice getting ready to digest it. We call these cravings or hunger. And as the food enters the mouth, your tongue instinctively moves it around tasting every morsel while the teeth are chewing it away before the reflexes in your throat are gulping it down. Be passive here and let the body decide what to eat and when to stop.
This is certainly my go-to foods for those lazy summer days when you feeling lethargic or heavy and need something to Kickstart your tastebuds.
This dish is a flexible one and if you can't find the long (bartha) baingan, use the long and thin variety which has a more tender skin and sweeter flesh. I'd cut in slices and add eggplants towards the end when potatoes are almost cooked. I'd keep everything else same just skip the garlic and use asefotida instead.
Comments
Post a Comment