The Flora and Flora of Earth

My mum loves vegetarian food. She would have daal (lentils), chawal (rice) and achaar (pickle) over a meat curry anyday. And the way she savours such food is a sight to watch. She would close her eyes and feel the taste and go 'waah!' (wow). When my sister-in-law came to our family after getting married to my brother, we discovered she had the same problem ;).

I like to have meat. I never used to understand how my mum and my bhabhi (sister-in-law) enjoy meatless recipes. I learnt slowly. I think once you really start taking interest in all the ingredients and the process of cooking, you become more open-minded and adventurous. Different flavours grow on you. Atleast this is what happened to me and now I can't wait to go back to Pakistan and spend all the time with my mum, mother-in-law and all my aunts learning their safely-kept recipes of different chutneys and achaars and raitas. Things that never caught my attention when I had easy access to them. The mere philosophy of life!

Just yesterday my friends came over for dinner. This is the first time I gave this recipe a try. Not sure if mum does it the same way. This is from my friend Humaira in Boston with some changes.

It's the tastiest combination of yoghurt and eggplant I've ever had. This is supposed to be served as a condiment but if you're on a diet, have it as a main dish. It was a superhit last night!

BAINGAN KA RAITA 

INGREDIENTS

• Thinly sliced Eggplant- 1


• Cumin powder- 2 tsp


• Salt- to taste


• Vegetable oil- 3tbsp


• Greek yoghurt- 2cups


• Garam masala- 1/2 tsp


• Chaat masala- 1/2 tsp (This is a very tangy spice mix that you can find in Pakistani/Indian shops)


• Dried red chillies- 5


• Curry leaves- 6 (Fresh leaves impart far better flavour and aroma)


• Whole cumin- 1tsp


• Sliced garlic- 2 cloves


• Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp


• Green chilli (Halved)- 1

Beat the yoghurt with chaat masala, garam masala and salt. Keep aside. Now heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and saute the eggplant slices with salt and cumin powder until slightly golden to light brown and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper. You can grill them instead if you want. Now add the eggplant slices to the yoghurt mix.

Heat the rest of the oil and add the whole cumin. Once it crackles, throw in the garlic, red chillies, red chilli powder and curry leaves. Once fragrant, pour over the yoghurt mix. Garnish with green chillies. Serve and hear them rave!