Neem-Begun, i.e. eggplant/aubergine fried with young neem leaves used to be a staple every spring and summer. Compared to other kids, I really liked neem, even through it was extremely bitter. I loved the crispiness of neem leaves against the soft fullbodiness of brinjal (aubergine/eggplant). Here in the US, we are deprived of neem, so I decided to substitute with ucche (karela, bitter groud). Actually, being a fan of the bitter taste and of karela, I am always trying to find different ways to cook it. I usually take a small 1/4-cup of karela curry (whatever I have cooked that week) with me to lunch at work, when I am not eating out with clients, that is.
Ingredients
Karela/ Ucche - five, wash and cut into small bite sized pieces, dry
Japanese eggplant - wash and slice into 1-inch cubes or so, dry
Mustard oil - 2 TBsp
Asafoetida/ Hing - 1/4 Tsp
Salt - 2 Tsp
Turmeric - 2 Tsp
Sugar - 2 Tsp
Panch phoron - 2 Tsp
Ginger - 1/2-inch root, finely minced
Green chilies - 3 or 4, sliced
Process
1. Heat the mustard oil in a tava. Sprinkle hing first, and when its heated up, add the panch phoron. When the seeds start cooking, add the ginger and green chilies. Cook for a minute or two.
2. Add the karela, salt, and turmeric. Mix well and fry for two to three minutes till all the karela is well coated and yellow.
3. Add the eggplant pieces and keep frying for a while. The eggplant will start to change some color and also wilt a bit. Add the sugar, and keep frying. If it is getting dry, add some warm water.
4. When fully cooked, there should be no crunchiness in the karela and the brinjal/eggplant should be soft and silky.
5. Serve with piping hot rice, always as the first course, maybe after a palate setting few morsels of ghee-rice. Bitter should be eaten at the beginning of a meal, always.
Notes
1. You can use Kala jeera (kalonji /nigella) seeds instead of panch phoron, or even cumin seeds. I like it with panchphoron, probably because I grew up with this spice mix in most recipes.
2. I used japanese eggplant because those were the ones that looked good at the grocery store when I was shopping. I don't usually use the american egglplant for any dish as I find them very tasteless. If you want to use any other eggplant, I recommend the Italian long ones, or chinese light skinned ones, or the Thai small globular ones, or the Indian plump varieties. Eggplant is found in multiple cuisines these days all over the world, and I feel proud that this is a unique contribution of India to the world.
 |
| Ucche Begun (Karela and Brinjal fry, Bengali Style) |
Karela/ Ucche - five, wash and cut into small bite sized pieces, dry
Japanese eggplant - wash and slice into 1-inch cubes or so, dry
Mustard oil - 2 TBsp
Asafoetida/ Hing - 1/4 Tsp
Salt - 2 Tsp
Turmeric - 2 Tsp
Sugar - 2 Tsp
Panch phoron - 2 Tsp
Ginger - 1/2-inch root, finely minced
Green chilies - 3 or 4, sliced
Process
1. Heat the mustard oil in a tava. Sprinkle hing first, and when its heated up, add the panch phoron. When the seeds start cooking, add the ginger and green chilies. Cook for a minute or two.
2. Add the karela, salt, and turmeric. Mix well and fry for two to three minutes till all the karela is well coated and yellow.
3. Add the eggplant pieces and keep frying for a while. The eggplant will start to change some color and also wilt a bit. Add the sugar, and keep frying. If it is getting dry, add some warm water.
4. When fully cooked, there should be no crunchiness in the karela and the brinjal/eggplant should be soft and silky.
5. Serve with piping hot rice, always as the first course, maybe after a palate setting few morsels of ghee-rice. Bitter should be eaten at the beginning of a meal, always.
Notes
1. You can use Kala jeera (kalonji /nigella) seeds instead of panch phoron, or even cumin seeds. I like it with panchphoron, probably because I grew up with this spice mix in most recipes.
2. I used japanese eggplant because those were the ones that looked good at the grocery store when I was shopping. I don't usually use the american egglplant for any dish as I find them very tasteless. If you want to use any other eggplant, I recommend the Italian long ones, or chinese light skinned ones, or the Thai small globular ones, or the Indian plump varieties. Eggplant is found in multiple cuisines these days all over the world, and I feel proud that this is a unique contribution of India to the world.
Comments
Post a Comment