When Marco Polo Visited India: Eggplant Pakora Parmesan
As far as my weak knowledge of history goes, I don't think Marco Polo visited any part of modern-day India (at least the maps I've seen show locations well north of India), but I needed a title to grab everyone's attention. Now that I have your attention, I will be presenting another one of my Indo-Italian fusions: Eggplant Pakora Parmesan. That really seems to be the theme for my past few recipes (well the last one was more Indo-French than anything, but the original intent before I failed and improvised was Indo-Italian :D ). I hope this one is a 'bangin' recipe! ;)
Here's what you'll need:
Ingredients:
For the eggplant pakora:
-1 large, round brinjal
-2 cups of gram flour (besan)
-1.5 cups of water
-2 inch knob of ginger
-3-4 green chillies roughly chopped
-2 tbsp. of salt
-1/2 tbsp. of parsley flakes
-1/2 cup of your preferred cooking oil for shallow frying*
For the tomato sauce:
-10 plum tomatoes
-1/2 large onion chopped
-5 cloves of garlic
-1/2 tbsp. or cumin seeds
-6-8 basil leaves roughly chopped
-2 dried bay leaves
-2 tbsp. of salt
-1 tbsp. of red chilli powder
-1 tbsp. of turmeric
-1 tbsp. of black pepper powder
-1 tbsp. of oregano flakes
-1 tbsp. of garam masala
-1/2 tbsp. of turmeric
-3 tbsp. of EVOO + 1 tbsp.
For garnishing:
-Grated parmesan cheese (as needed per plate you serve)**
-Fresh basil leaves (whole, as needed per plate you serve)
Preparation:
For the eggplant pakora:
-Chop off the top stem and bottom of the eggplant and then make 1 cm thick round slices. Set aside while you prepare the batter
-In a bowl, add the besan and water and whisk until you have a thin consistency around that of a crepe batter. More water may be needed to thin it.
-Make a fine paste out of the green chillies and ginger. Add to the besan batter and mix in well.
-Add the salt and parsley flakes and mix in well to the batter.
-In a fry pan, place your cooking oil and let it heat up over a low-medium heat.
-Dip the eggplant slices in the batter and place it in the oil. Fry on one side until GBD*** Then flip and fry the other side likewise.
-Fry all your slices and set aside to soak on paper towels or a brown paper bag.
For the tomato sauce:
-In a sauce pan, add the 3 tbsp. of olive oil and let it heat up over a low-medium flame.
-Add the cumin seeds and stir until they're brown.
-Using the back of a chef's knife, crush the cloves of garlic and then mince the garlic.
-Add the garlic to the pan and sauté until golden brown.
-Add the onions and sauté until translucent.
-Chop the plum tomatoes into eighths and add the pan. Stir fry until the tomatoes have softened up to a pulp. You can cover with a lid and allow the steam to soften up the tomatoes.
-Add the salt, black pepper powder, red chilli powder turmeric, and garam masala and then stir for 5 minutes.
-In a blender pour this mixture along with the basil leaves after roughly chopping them. Use the pulse setting until you get one smooth, homogenous paste. If it gets too thick, you can slowly stir in some water.
-Using a sieve or strainer, slowly pour the blended ingredients into a bowl so any pulp or peels from the tomatoes gets separated.
-Add the 1 tbsp. of oil to the sauce pan and use this to sauté the bay leaves. Then pour the blended tomato paste over the bay leaves.
-Stir for 5 minutes.
-Switch the flame to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
-Add the oregano flakes and stir for 1 minute. Switch off and use the sauce immediately while it's still hot. (See below instructions for plating).
For plating:
-This is optional, but I decided to serve this over a bed of pasta. You can choose your favorite. I went with rotini because I'm still a little kid who likes shapes in his pasta. :D
-Pour some sauce and parmesan cheese over the pasta.
-Place the eggplant pakora slices on top in the center (see picture below for ideas)
-Place the sauce and parmesan cheese on top of the eggplant.
-Place 3-4 basil leaves around the sides of a plate in a decorative fashion.Wait 5-7 minutes before serving to let the cheese melt.
Notes:
*The amount of oil you'll need may vary depending on the depth of your pan.
**Please if you have any shred of dignity in you, don't use that Kraft crumby stuff. Go to the fine cheeses section at your local grocery store and either get a tub of it or ask the deli section to grate a block of it for you. It's the simple things that make any dish stand out.
***GBD=Golden, brown, and delicious. A term taken from Chef Roberto.
Here's what you'll need:
Ingredients:
For the eggplant pakora:
-1 large, round brinjal
-2 cups of gram flour (besan)
-1.5 cups of water
-2 inch knob of ginger
-3-4 green chillies roughly chopped
-2 tbsp. of salt
-1/2 tbsp. of parsley flakes
-1/2 cup of your preferred cooking oil for shallow frying*
For the tomato sauce:
-10 plum tomatoes
-1/2 large onion chopped
-5 cloves of garlic
-1/2 tbsp. or cumin seeds
-6-8 basil leaves roughly chopped
-2 dried bay leaves
-2 tbsp. of salt
-1 tbsp. of red chilli powder
-1 tbsp. of turmeric
-1 tbsp. of black pepper powder
-1 tbsp. of oregano flakes
-1 tbsp. of garam masala
-1/2 tbsp. of turmeric
-3 tbsp. of EVOO + 1 tbsp.
For garnishing:
-Grated parmesan cheese (as needed per plate you serve)**
-Fresh basil leaves (whole, as needed per plate you serve)
For the eggplant pakora:
-Chop off the top stem and bottom of the eggplant and then make 1 cm thick round slices. Set aside while you prepare the batter
-In a bowl, add the besan and water and whisk until you have a thin consistency around that of a crepe batter. More water may be needed to thin it.
-Make a fine paste out of the green chillies and ginger. Add to the besan batter and mix in well.
-Add the salt and parsley flakes and mix in well to the batter.
The besan batter all whisked and good to go.
-Dip the eggplant slices in the batter and place it in the oil. Fry on one side until GBD*** Then flip and fry the other side likewise.
It's so golden brown! :D
For the tomato sauce:
-In a sauce pan, add the 3 tbsp. of olive oil and let it heat up over a low-medium flame.
-Add the cumin seeds and stir until they're brown.
-Using the back of a chef's knife, crush the cloves of garlic and then mince the garlic.
-Add the garlic to the pan and sauté until golden brown.
-Add the onions and sauté until translucent.
-Chop the plum tomatoes into eighths and add the pan. Stir fry until the tomatoes have softened up to a pulp. You can cover with a lid and allow the steam to soften up the tomatoes.
-Add the salt, black pepper powder, red chilli powder turmeric, and garam masala and then stir for 5 minutes.
-In a blender pour this mixture along with the basil leaves after roughly chopping them. Use the pulse setting until you get one smooth, homogenous paste. If it gets too thick, you can slowly stir in some water.
-Using a sieve or strainer, slowly pour the blended ingredients into a bowl so any pulp or peels from the tomatoes gets separated.
-Add the 1 tbsp. of oil to the sauce pan and use this to sauté the bay leaves. Then pour the blended tomato paste over the bay leaves.
-Stir for 5 minutes.
-Switch the flame to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
-Add the oregano flakes and stir for 1 minute. Switch off and use the sauce immediately while it's still hot. (See below instructions for plating).
The tomato sauce. Make sure to keep this warm.
For plating:
-This is optional, but I decided to serve this over a bed of pasta. You can choose your favorite. I went with rotini because I'm still a little kid who likes shapes in his pasta. :D
-Pour some sauce and parmesan cheese over the pasta.
-Place the eggplant pakora slices on top in the center (see picture below for ideas)
-Place the sauce and parmesan cheese on top of the eggplant.
-Place 3-4 basil leaves around the sides of a plate in a decorative fashion.Wait 5-7 minutes before serving to let the cheese melt.
Enjoy! Happy cooking! :)
*The amount of oil you'll need may vary depending on the depth of your pan.
**Please if you have any shred of dignity in you, don't use that Kraft crumby stuff. Go to the fine cheeses section at your local grocery store and either get a tub of it or ask the deli section to grate a block of it for you. It's the simple things that make any dish stand out.
***GBD=Golden, brown, and delicious. A term taken from Chef Roberto.
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