Smoked Brinjal/Eggplant - Baingan ka Bharta (Punjabi style)

I grew up around cosmopolitan cultures in Dubai, UAE and had good Punjabi friends. Of course, once I got married I met a lot more Punjabi people who are my husband's friends and are now very good friends of mine as well.

I have always loved Punjabi food. Lassi and Punjabi samosas top that list for me :)

This recipe comes after trying out the several variants of Baingan ka Bharta. I love the Punjabi variant thus far. The eggplant is first roasted before being mashed.

You need:

• 4 medium sized brinjals/eggplants
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 medium sized onions, sliced finely
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• 1" ginger, finely grated
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped finely
• 2 green chilies, chopped finely (or sliced if you don't want it spiced)
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
• Some coriander leaves for garnish
• Oil - 1 tbsp or as required
• Drinking water - as required
• Salt to taste

The Make
Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes | Serves 3-4 adults

1. Roast the eggplant on all sides either on the gas top or on your grill or in your oven. The resultant eggplant's external skin would be charred and the flesh internally would be soft.
2. Once all the eggplants are roasted, set aside to cool. Once cooled, peel of the skin and coarsely mash up the softened flesh of the eggplants.
3. Heat oil in a non-stick pan or a wok and splutter the cumin seeds.
4. On medium-low heat, add the onions and fry till translucent. Next add the garlic, ginger and green chilis and fry for a minute.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, powdered spices, salt and saute well. Allow the spices to cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the spices leave the sides of the wok. Add a drizzle of water if required.
6. Next add the mashed eggplant,chopped coriander leaves, cumin powder and mix well. Cook for a minute.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or chapattis or your favourite rotis and yoghurt.

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as my husband and I did! :)

Bon Appetit!

Spicy Lamb Sausage with Cucumber and Tomato Salsa

This recipe is inspired by Masterchef Australia's Poh Ling Yeow. This amazing treat from Poh makes for an excellent breakfast meal. I used the remaining mix to make a new treat which I will share with you once G'Gina's Kitchenette's Theme Breakfast week completes.

You need:

For the sausage:

• 2 tablespoons toasted fennel seeds
• 2 tablespoons toasted coriander seeds
• 500g lamb or beef mince
• 500g pork mince * for those that do not use pork, you can also make this only with lamb mince or include chicken mince
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika
• ½ cup chopped coriander leaves, reserve the stalks
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon dried red chilli flakes
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 3 - 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Eggs - 4 to 6

For the Salad

• 1 large ripened tomato, diced
•  1 large cucumber, sliced or diced
• 1 tablespoons chopped mint
• 1 tablespoons finely chopped coriander stalks
• 1 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Tip: Make sure all the leaves/herbs are finely diced as they would break the doughnut mince or would be difficult to mould. Also make sure that once the leaves and herbs are washed and cleaned, that they are well-dried as well to make the perfect rounded doughnut mince.

The make

Serves 4 to 6 adults | Preparation time: 5-6 minutes | Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Source: Poh's Kitchen (http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pohskitchen/stories/s3322745.htm )

Spicy Lamb Sausage

1. Toast fennel and coriander seeds until fragrant and smokey (do not burn). This takes about a minute. Grind the toasted ingredients to a fine powder.

2.This is an important step. Combine all the ingredients and hand mix for about 5 minutes.  In mixing the ingredients, you can even throw mixture at high speeds towards the bowl, but make sure you do not miss! Tip: Make sure that your cleaned and rinsed mince is free of any water content.

This process of massaging the mince will bind the ingredients together in the absence of a binding agent such as egg. It will also develop the proteins, an important, handy technique for sausage making. The result would be a really sticky mince mixture. At this point you may choose to shape the mince into hand shaped sausages, a kabab sphere shape or a doughnut shape. Poh suggests if you are having some trouble handling the stickiness, wet your hands a little. She is right!

3. Place the doughnut meat on a medium hot, lightly greased skillet.

4. Brown one side and then flip it on the other side.

5. Next, immediately crack an egg into the center of the doughnut. Cook completely and serve with  toasted bread of your choice and fresh tomato and cucumber salad.

This quantity makes about 10 burger patties, 20 sausages and about 12 doughnuts. In case you have any leftover mince, shape to preferred size and shape and freeze in an airtight container with plastic sheets separators between the mince shapes.

Salad

Combine all ingredients and toss lightly. Serve on the side of the Spicy Lamb Sausage.

Bon Appetit!