Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Sesame Eggplant



This is the continuation of the Thai recipes that I cooked over the weekend. It is remarkable how most of the recipes in Asian culture use the same known ingredients, yet carry an entirely different taste. In my opinion, recipes in which vegetables are cooked in chunks rather than pureed or chopped leave a very fulfilling feel with the taste buds. The sesame eggplant is one such. It is amazing that something that takes less than 20 minutes to cook can taste this awesome. I got the idea for the recipe from the Appon's Thai food recipes website. My modification was to brush the aubergines with a little bit of peanut soy sauce before roasting them. Also, I roasted them directly in a deep pan instead of using the tin foil.

Ingredients:

Chinese eggplants - 2 medium ones
Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Peanut Soy sauce - 2 tbsp (I used the store bought one. You can use any Thai sauce you like)
Salt - for taste

Method:
  • Cut eggplants length wise into half. Cut each piece breadth wise into half again.
  • Mix the salt and the peanut sauce together. Brush the eggplants with the mixture.
  • Melt the butter in a pan and toss the sesame seeds in them for a minute on low flame.
  • Pour this mixture over the eggplant and coat it evenly.
  • Now add oil to the same pan. When it is hot place the eggplants in them. Cover with lid.
  • On a low flame let the eggplants sit for a couple of minutes or till the skin starts shrinking.
  • Flip them over and let sit for another couple of minutes till it turns light brown and cooked.
  • Serve hot with rice.