Friday, September 7, 2007

Enjoying eggplants and mushrooms :)

Eggplants are really good, so are mushrooms. What's even better is the two of them together! Few days back (actually many days ago, when we were enjoying poori-bhaaji. Yes! that long back!), i had mentioned about an eggplant-mushroom recipe :). And then i just waited and waited to post it.....and came up with another eggplant-mushroom recipe, and still kept on waiting.....and finally, i am posting these :). and did i tell you that like many of the recipes here, these recipes originated while i was enjoying my bus ride ;).

Today, we'll enjoy the eggplant mushroom combo two ways: a yogurt based gravy dish and a coconut based dry sabzi! So yes, eggplants rule, as do mushrooms and together they are just divine!




Eggplant-mushrooms in yogurt gravy:

We need:

  • 4-5 small eggplants or 2 Chinese or Japanese eggplants (cut into 2" pieces)
  • 1 cup baby bella or crimini mushrooms (diced, i used dried crimini mushrooms, soaked. Fresh mushrooms work equally well).
  • 1/2 tsp. each jeera/cumin and dhania/coriander
  • 1 big, ripe tomato (chopped)
  • 1 heaped tsp. chopped ginger
  • Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup beaten curds (preferably sour)
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp. oil
  • A pinch of garam masala
  • Cilantro (for garnishing)
In a pan, heat oil and splutter the cumin and coriander seeds. Add half of the chopped ginger and saute'. Now add the eggplant pieces and stir fry. This should take about 6-7 minutes. Add the diced mushrooms and stir fry another 5 minutes. Add rest of the chopped ginger and tomatoes, salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Stir , cover and cook on low flame with 1/4 cup water to allow the vegetables to abosrb the flavors of the spices. Now add the curds slowly and mix. Cook another 5 minutes for the gravy to thicken. Add a pinch of garam masala. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!


The brown color of this dish is from dried mushrooms and tomatoes. I enjoyed this dish with pooris and also with rice.

Eggplant-mushrooms stir fry:

We need:

  • 4-5 small eggplants orr 2 Chinese or Japanese eggplants (cut into 2" pieces)
  • 1 cup baby bella or crimini mushrooms (diced)
  • 2 bunches (8-10 pieces) spring onions (chopped)
  • 1/2 cup grated coconut
  • 1 tbsp. Sriracha chilli sauce (or any hot sauce, my favorite substitute is green chilli chutney)
  • Turmeric (a pinch)
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp. lime/lemon juice
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp. oil
In a pan, heat 1/2 tbsp. oil and saute' the spring onions, followed by grated coconut. Now add the eggplant slices and stir fry till crisp. Add the mushrooms and stir fry another 8-10 minutes. Add the turmeric, salt, chilli sauce and lime/lemon juice. Cook for another 5 minutes. Enjoy the heavenly aroma of coconuts and chillies. Serve hot with chapatis, paranthas or as a side dish with rice. My favorite way of enjoying this: as a sandwich stuffing!



I decided to make this dish, because i still had some eggplants and mushrooms in my fridge and wanted to enjoy these vegetables in a different way. I am glad i thought of this! The taste and aroma of this dish was amazing, so was the texture: soft mushrooms and eggplant pieces and crunchy grated coconut and spring onions! Oh and if you don't enjoy eggplants as much, chances are that you will, after this :)). And yes, it works well with just mushrooms or eggplants too :).Don't go by the pictures, this one is really yummy!

31 comments:

sra said...

Those eggplants are cute. Will try your yoghurt gravy,looks good.

Nupur said...

I don't think I have ever tried cooking a combo of eggplants and mushrooms! Both your dishes sound totally delicious- I'll be trying them :)

Finla said...

I like egg plant and mushrooms, never tried this combo.
It looks nice.

J said...

I'm not exactly friendly with either eggplants or mushrooms, but have to say I liked the first recipe :)

FH said...

Love the first photo,beautiful.Eggplant and Mushrooms is a great combo Muse, good one.Looks YUM!:))

Richa said...

haanji, kidda'?
baigun & dahi go so well together, subzis look tempting :) that's a tasty combo. I need to call u the s/w master now ;)
federe di game shammi e', chetti chetti tayar hojao. tussi djokovic nu vekheya, mimicking sharapova & nadal, he was hilarious :)

Sreelu said...

Musical,never tried that combo before but sure looks good

Mishmash ! said...

hehehe..my hubby will run away from both the veggies..he belongs to eggplant-mushroom hater group :) so u treat me once at ur place...just me :)

Shn

sunita said...

Love both the dishes...we belong to the eggplants and mushroom lovers group :)

musical said...

Sra:

Yup! thats why i bought them. While the yogurt gravy is good, the second one is really the winner ;).

Nupur:

I agree, its not that popular a combo :-D. Try and let me know how you like them, especially the second one, becuase to me, it was outstanding!!

musical said...

Happy Cook:

I am glad you like these vegetables! Try them together and am sure you'll like them even more :).


Jyothsna:

OMG! Now thats a compliment: thank you, swwetie :).

musical said...

Ashakka:

Soooooooooooo good to see you! How are you doing! You made me really happy by saying that you liked the picture and the combo! Thank you :).

Richa:

Haanji, tuhanu vi pasand aaya. Mainu lagda hi si, ki tuhanu eh combo changa laggega :).Thanks you :). Hey, Federer rocks, isn't it! Ooh, i am waiting for the game too :). but i missed the mimicking bit ;).

Sreelu:

Thanks, dear! Looks like you like these two vegetables too :).

musical said...

Shn:

Sure ji, drop by anytime :). I'll make whatever you say :).

Sunita:

I knew i could count on you :-D. Thanks :).

bee said...

eggplants are divine??? you're calling for a major suspension of disbelief here ... :D

maybe with mushrooms they are, 'cos i love mushrooms.

Sig said...

Love mushrooms, used to hate eggplants, but they are okay now too... so this combination could actually work for me :)

TBC said...

hmmm... both of my least fav veggies together though I do make stuff with mushroom pretty often.
I like your stir-fry version more. Will try this when I am forced to use both of these. :-)

musical said...

Bee:

There you are :-D. Yes, they are ;). Really divine :-D. On a serious note, use half the amount of eggplants, cut them into bite size pieces and then try the stir-fry recipe with mushrooms and coconut. You won't realize you had eggplants!

Sig:

He he, this might be the right combo for you :-D. Am glad you like eggplants now :).

TBC:

I am thrilled! really, atleast someone thought of the stir-fry :-D. Not that i don't enjoy the gravy sabzi, but the stir fry had such a unique taste, really!

Bong Mom said...

You are a true scientist to come up with such inventions always :)
Does your academic research involve food at all, if not maybe you should switch :D

Viji said...

Musical, lovely dish. But never tried with mushrooms. Viji

Anonymous said...

You day-dream about food combinations on your bus ride! :-D Using the time to plan a super express meal - must add that to Mallugirl's list of tips on planning - "use driving/ride time to plan your meal"!

Many times, I find that to be the hardest part of the plan - what to cook tonight?

musical said...

Sandeepa:

No, no food involved there :-D. He he, thats a foodie for you ;). Ooh and i thought you would say this was art ;).

Viji:

Thank you :). Eggplant and mushrooms go really well together!

Anita:

Didn't i tell you that i am a chatori :-D. i agree, the hardest part is always "what to cook"! and i am almost sure that you like both eggplants and mushrooms :).

Sharmi said...

hmm so both the slimy friends get along with eachother. that sound good but lil scared to try:)

musical said...

Sharmi:

he he, that was hilarious ;). atleast others liked one vegetable, you don't like any of these two :-D. so, which vegetables you like, lemme know. i don't want to scare you ;).

Rachna said...

musy, im not a big mushroom fan, lemme try with baingan...maybe ill finally like them...

musical said...

Rachna,

Try the stir fry and lemme knnow if you like it. If you don't want mushrooms, eggplants and green beans go really well together. If you don't like a vegetable, try chopping it into smaller pieces: this technique usually works for me.

Pelicano said...

Have you been ordering from T.G. Express again? :-D

Both of these dishes look wonderful Musical- the first one doesn't suprise me, but that second one...! All I can say is:
sawat dee krab. :-D

musical said...

Pel:

Now that was really funny :-D. I had to check what TG House is! Figured out that its Thai Restaurant :). Sawatdee Ka, he he :). But it tastes more Indian than Thai (despite the heavy dose of Sriracha sauce). Really, coconut and chillies do wonders. But i am guessing why you feel the Thai reference, eggplants and mushrooms, eh? Never had them together in a Non-Indian way, except on Pizza :).

Latha said...

Thats an unusual combo, but it looks yumm!

musical said...

Hey Latha,

Thanks a lot :). and my apologies for the late reply to your message.

Chef Jeena said...

Hi there you have a great blog lovely recipes I love mushrooms . Feel free to visit my blog too :) Click Here For Food Recipes

musical said...

Hey Jeena,

Thanks for the kind words and the link :). I will check out your blog for sure!