South Indian Eggplant Curry: Kattirikkay Kari

This dish is a great way to use eggplant, but it is a tad oily, as eggplant is known for sopping up oil, but I tried to limit the oil, and I've seen recipes for this dish that use far more oil. Serve this dish with rice and flatbread.

 

Ingredients:  

2 medium eggplants, well rinsed and stem area cut off

1 teaspoon ground turmeric, divided use

2 teaspoons salt, divided use

6 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided use

2 teaspoons black mustard seeds

2 cups sliced or chopped red onion

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 medium green chili peppers (or 4 small), chopped

4 small tomatoes (or 2 medium), chopped

12 to 15 curry leaves*

2 teaspoons ground red pepper (cayenne or other hot ground red pepper)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 cups water 

2/3 cup coconut milk

chopped coriander (also known as cilantro) for garnish

 

Wash and dry the eggplant, cut it into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Add 3 tablespoons oil to a pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the eggplant pieces, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric. Stir the eggplant around and turn it as it fries until it is browned (add 1 more tablespoon of oil during the frying); then, remove the eggplant to a plate or a bowl. (I empty the oil from the skillet, but you can leave it if you'd like.) I then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and add the black mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the the sliced red onion and saute until the onion softens, then add the tomatoes, the chopped green chilies, minced garlic and grated ginger; let cook about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring and breaking up the tomatoes as they cook. Then add the other 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons red chili pepper, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 2 teaspoons ground cumin and the curry leaves (or grated lime peel and torn basil leaves); stir well, then add water and stir well again. After 3 minutes add the browned eggplant, stir, cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the lid, stir, then stir in the coconut milk; cook a further 3 minutes uncovered. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, also known to many as cilantro. Serve with rice.

 

* Curry leaves are a common addition to southern Indian cooking. Just a few years ago, your chances of finding curry leaves outside of the Indian Subcontinent were likely not very good, but now curry leaves are much more available, including here in the United States, where they are sometimes frozen, but also they can be found fresh in a clear packet (they are not expensive and they keep well in the refrigerator). If you don't have access to curry leaves, you can substitute 1 tablespoon grated lime peel and about 6 basil leaves torn into smaller pieces. Understand, "curry leaves" have nothing to do with "curry powder," nor with "curries," the types of spiced dishes, except that on occasion the leaves are used in some curries.          

 

 

South Indian Eggplant Curry with a piece of methi thepla flatbread ...("methi thepla" is a flatbread made from whole wheat and fenugreek leaves, and it is popular in Gujarat, an Indian state in western India with a coastline on the Arabian Sea region of the Indian Ocean.  

 

WORD HISTORY:

Crater-This word is related to "grail" (cup), a word from Latin and borrowed by English via French; however, where Latin got the word is in question. "Crater" goes back to Indo European "kerh/kere," with the meaning "to mix;" thus also figuratively "to confuse." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek the noun "krater" meaning "bowl" ("a dish used to mix ingredients"),^ and this was borrowed by Latin as "crater," meaning "basin," with the later additional meaning of "opening at the top of a volcano;" that is, "a basin shaped opening." English borrowed the word in the early part of the 1600s with the "top opening of a volcano" meaning and the meanings then expanded to "depressions in the ground made by meteors and by the explosion of artillery shells (later by bombs dropped from airplanes). The verb form is from the noun in the mid 1800s, initially meaning "to make a crater," as in, "The bomb cratered just a short distance from our house," but the figurative sense became common in usage; that is, "to fall from a high position," as in, "After winning 3 games in a row, our team cratered in the standings by losing 9 of 10 games." 

  

^ Some feel that the ultimate Indo European source is the same Indo European source as for modern English "horn;" that is, "k(h)er," which had the notion "top of the body, head;" thus, "animal horn." Now, some animal horns were used as vessels for drinks, and wine and water were often mixed together in them.  

Caponata Crostini, Sicilian Eggplant Appetizer

Caponata is an eggplant based dish from the Italian island of Sicily. It can be used as a topping for bruschetta, or as I've done here, for crostini, or it can be used as a side dish, and it can be served warm or at room temperature. There are a lot of variations in recipes, so as always, this is my version. Crostini are small slices of bread, brushed with olive oil, then toasted by grilling, in the oven, or in a skillet, and then topped with any variety of vegetables, cheeses, meats, or some combination thereof.

Ingredients (using just one eggplant):

1 medium eggplant, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon salt
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
6 to 8 medium to large pitted green olives, roughly chopped
2 plum tomatoes, chopped

1 small onion, chopped 

1 large garlic clove, minced or finely chopped 

1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Small Italian bread slices, brushed with olive oil, toasted, then halved

Cut the eggplant into bite-sized pieces, then spread it out on a large plate covered with a paper towel. Sprinkle salt over the eggplant, then cover with another paper towel. You can also place another plate or two on top to add weight. Let the eggplant sit for 30 to 45 minutes. This will draw out some of the liquid from the eggplant. In the meantime, heat 1/2 cup oil in a heavy-duty skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook about 5 or 6 minutes, the until onion and celery are softened. Add the garlic, olives, anchovies, chili flakes and tomatoes and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the sugar and then stir in vinegar. Reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. In another skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium heat. Wash off the eggplant pieces (you can discard the rendered liquid). Squeeze the eggplant by hand to remove water and other juices and then add it to the fresh skillet. Cook until lightly browned. Remove to a plate with a paper towel and allow excess oil to drain. Add the eggplant to the other mixture and stir well. Spoon some of the caponata onto the crostini (the plural form of "crostino").

Great as an appetizer, or add a salad for a nice light lunch.

WORD HISTORY:
Isle-First, in spite of the similarity in spelling and meaning, this word is NOT related to the word "island," which is a Germanic word essentially meaning, "water land," or "land on the water," although the spelling of "island" with an "s" (which had not been part of its spelling), was definitely influenced by the Latin spelling (see below). On the other hand, the ancient origin of "isle" is uncertain, but it "may" be related to "salt," with the general notion being "(land) in the salt water (sea)," but this is far from certain. Latin had "insula," meaning "island" ("insula" is indeed the second part of the word "peninsula"). "Seemingly" a later Latin variant spelling "isula" gave Old French the greatly contracted form "isle," which was contracted further to "ile." This was borrowed into English in "about" 1290. The influence of the Latin spelling, however, had French restore, and English add, the "s" to the word circa 1500, although modern French spells it "île," with the "^", called a circumflex, indicating there was once an "s" in the spelling. Close English relative German uses "Insel" as its primary word for "island;" a borrowing long ago directly from Latin "insula," although it also has "Eiland," pronounced "I-lahnt" (long "I" sound), the close form to English "island," but it is stylistically very high sounding, used more in grand writing and poetry in modern times.