Mehernosh Mody's Smoked Aubergine Crush

Now, with a name like Smoked Aubergine Crush, could this dish really go wrong? It's the most romantic thing I've ever heard a roasted eggplant puree called, and was at least half, if not three-quarters of the reason why I chose to make this for dinner last night (though it was less of a seduction attempt than a long-awaited catch-up dinner with Gemma). It also sent me on a foraging mission to Kalustyan's for a few more glass jars to add to my already over-stuffed cupboards.

Kalustyan's is, of course, a charming place where you're likely to spend most of your disposable income, if you're a food-minded person, on all manners of jars and bottles and packets of spices and sauces and pastes and what-not. However, when the turmeric you buy goes and stains not only your frying pan, but your Kitchenaid spatula and your countertop, too, you find yourself less amusingly charmed and more completely irritated. But never mind. High is the price you pay for good food.

The recipe originates from Pondicherry (a former French colony and trading post in India from 1670 to 1954) and was printed in the LA Times's review of La Porte des Indes (a London restaurant) cookbook.The cuisine that emerged from this hybrid culture featured French cooking techniques blended with traditional Indian foods and spices. The recipes Barbara Hansen mentioned in her review (Crab Malabar, Poulet Rouge, Shrimp Curry) sounded bewitching and reason enough to go out and buy the book (it's apparently well-tested and most of the recipes seem relatively simple to make).

And if there's anything that makes me feel more capable in the kitchen than concocting an Asian recipe, it's concocting a Southeast Asian recipe. No? With all those various powders and seeds and aromatics, cooking Indian food is like a glorious sort of chemistry class, in which the final outcome will make your tummy very happy indeed.

I roasted a one-pound eggplant until soft, let it cool and then processed it, sans skin, to a greenish puree. In a separate pan, I cooked mustard seeds (popping all the way), chopped onion, hot chiles and chopped ginger for a few minutes (but not long enough - in the final product some of these bits were a bit too crunchy for my taste). I added the accursed turmeric and then the eggplant, and let this mixture cook for 15 minutes over low heat before adding a few spoons of coconut milk and a spritz of lemon juice.

The result? A creamy, spicy, smoky puree (albeit with some textural surprises) that lends itself quite nicely to being scooped with flatbreads (more on those tomorrow) and gobbled up for dinner in an ethnically incorrect, yet pretty tasty fashion. If you wanted to turn this into a square meal, a pot of hot rice and a simple fish fillet could be a good way of rounding it out. I sort of preferred eating the puree as part of a grazing dinner, with a dollop of yogurt to cool the heat, and the heady scent of spices in my house.

Smoked Aubergine Crush
Serves 4

1 1-lb eggplant
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 3/4-inch piece ginger root, peeled and finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon chopped)
1 teaspoon finely chopped red chile (jalapeno or serrano, seeded), or more to taste
1 teaspoon finely chopped green chile (jalapeno or serrano, seeded), or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro for garnish (optional, in my opinion)
A few slivers red chile for garnish

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the eggplant on each side with the tines of a fork and bake for 50 minutes, or until very tender. Remove from the oven and cool. When cool enough to handle, halve it lengthwise, scoop out the flesh and blend or process it to a puree.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds and cover immediately to prevent the seeds from popping out of the pan. When the mustard seeds pop, add the onion and cook until translucent. Then add the ginger and chopped chiles and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat and add the turmeric, followed by the pureed eggplant. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 15 minutes. Add the coconut milk and stir 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and salt to taste. Serve hot, garnished with chile (and cilantro, if using).

Comments

[Julie]

This looks completely wonderful and sounds truly delicious. In fact, this recipe sounds like a real find.

[deb]

I love Kalustyans. Nothing like walking into a place for za'atar and sumac and knowing for certain that they'll have it. I also love the old guy upstairs who calls his (delicious) mujadarra (disturbingly) his viagra.

This recipe looks delicious.

[Meghan]

Luisa - Try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on the countertop...that thing seriously gets everything off. Okay, now I sound like the commercial :)

[VeuveClicquot]

Yum!!! I can't wait to make this. Now, if only there were a Kalustyan's in Atlanta...

[for Joke!]

Looks delicious! I loooove Kalustyan's. Oh, and hey, did you know it's actually super easy to make chapatis yourself at home? It's not as fluffy as naan, but it just smells delicious and they are ridiculously good fresh.

[Anne N]

I love Kalustyans too! Whenever I walk through their door, the scent if the store always clears my head. Must be the combination of all those spices.

Your recipe alone is convincing me to buy this book. It sounds amazing.

[Luisa]

Julie - that's just what I thought!

Deb - that's hysterical. I know exactly which old guy you're talking about, though I never actually heard him speak so lovingly of his mujadarra!

Meghan - fantastic tip, thank you! I wonder if it's food-safe? Can I use it on my beloved plastic spatula?

Veuve - Kalustyan's does have a mail-order service online, though I know that's a bit of a flat replacement for an actual store...

Joke - I had no idea! Any chance you could share this super-easy, super-delicious recipe?! :)

Anne - if you buy the book, you must make the Crab Malabar, because that name alone has been floating around in my head for days, and sounds so glamorous and delicious and special. And then tell me how it is? :)

[ann]

this looks absolutely delicious, and maybe i didn't read as closely as i should have, but what is smoked?
man, i love eggplant so much, but the boyfriend ABHORES it! i've seen him consume it once, and it was only b/c i tricked him!
maybe i'll make this and tell him it's hummus ;-)

[andrea]

i can't wait to buy an eggplant and try this! yum!!

i wouldn't try the magic eraser on the spatula--not so sure if its food-safe(aren't there chemicals in it? i think i read that somewhere). sometimes baking soda with a bit of water does wonders! it got month-old coffee stains out of my white-painted kitchen counter.

[Luisa]

Ann - the original recipe called for the eggplant to be smoked over an open fire, instead of roasted in the oven. I suppose they kept the "smoked" in the title, because it makes everything else sound so much better.

As for eggplant-haters, I think it might be a textural thing, right? Eggplant does sort of teeter on the edge of unpleasantness sometimes, with its squidgyness...

Andrea - thanks for the baking soda-water tip. I think that's a great idea. Will try it out later today!

[Molly]

The title of this recipe is just TOO good. I feel as though it should only be uttered in hushed, seductive tones, you know? "Smoked Oh-berrrgeeeeeen Crusssssssh." It almost sounds like a lipstick color or something.

But, um, anyway, I love the combination of ingredients here - how could that stuff not be delicious? It reminds me, actually, of a dish that I love and wrote about over at Dannon - an Indian-spiced eggplant with yogurt and peas. It's smooth and creamy and a little fiery, and totally delicious. And I'll bet it would be even better with coconut milk, as you've used here.

xo

[brittany]

i made the smoked aubergine crush last night (and it won't stop repeating itself in my head either).
i was underwhelmed by the flavor of it when it was fresh, so despite the instructions to serve it hot, i decided to let it sit overnight and see what that would do.
today it is mindblowing. the mustard and ginger are so subtle, and the creamy coconut milk, with a good kick at the end...oh, it's addictive.
oh, and i know why it wasn't so flavorful fresh off the stove- i overlooked the part of the instructions where it said to cook for another 15 minutes after adding the eggplant- i just heated it through. oh well, easily remedied.

[janaki]

hi.. reading this.. was instantly reminded on an Indian dish we make called 'baingan bharta' a mush of aubergine. Exactly as u made.. but the aubergine (or brinjal as well call it here) is roasted straight on the gas flame, cooled, skinned and cooked either with a mix up of sauteed onions and tomatoes or served up with yoghurt... try with flat breads called rotis..:)

[Luisa]

Molly - that's exactly what I thought! It sounds totally seductive...crusssssshhhhh.... Your lipstick color idea make me laugh out loud ;)

Brittany - I actually think this dish benefits from an overnight rest either way (I should have noted that in my subsequent post). The flavors meld and mellow and develop into a much more interesting combination. So glad you found this addictive!

Janaki - that sounds utterly delicious. Especially with rotis (is there an Indian flatbread that I DON'T harbor a deep-seated love for?).

[Kristin]

Wow...this looks so awesome! What a great item to bring to a party too. Thanks!

[Rachael]

I roasted a one-pound eggplant until soft, let it cool and then processed it, sans skin, to a greenish puree."

But what makes it green? Why is it not grey?

[Luisa]

Kristin - fanTAStic potluck idea. You're welcome!

Rachael - Whenever I've cooked eggplant, the flesh turns greenish. Doesn't yours?

[dan]

you're messing too much with the eggplant, honey. try this: grill young, plump, fresh eggplants until they're charred and soft, peel, drain the juices for 20-30 minutes on a wooden board, then chop as fine as you can with a stainless stell, or even better, wooden knife; add finely chopped onion, salt and pepper and a small dash of vinegar (I said SMALL and it's in fact optional) and then mix in some oil, adding a little at a time like you would in a mayo'. preferably some not very flavoured oil, like sunflower oil. adding a couple dashes olive oil at the end gives it an extra layer of flavor but it can be left out no problem. that's it. serve on fresh, crusty, homemade bread. you'll never want to eat eggplant any other way. this is a romanian dish, it's called "salata de vinete". I make one at least once a week duting summer. enjoy!