The tasty and delicious eggplant

Eggplant, brinjal, aubergine or guinea squash — whatever name you call it we all recognise this vegetable from its gorgeous purple coloured skin. They are available in the markets all year round but are at their best from August to October. Eggplants grow in a manner like tomatoes, hanging from the vines of a plant that grown several feet in height. Eggplant is best known for two most popular dishes namely moussaka and ratatouille. This vegetable is very high on nutrients and has many health benefits so one should include this at least once a week in their meals for its health benefits. If you cook it well, even those people who don’t like it will appreciate its taste. I am a vegetable lover and I always try and make dishes with a lot of vegetables. Many readers also demand more vegetable dishes, so I thought this time to make something with the humble eggplant and make it into a complete meal for my followers. This dish is a combination of eggplant filled with seasoned rice and nuts served with a chunky tomato sauce. Tips while cooking with eggplantWhile cutting eggplant, always use a stainless steel knife instead of metal knife as eggplant is reactive to other metals. After cutting, place the pieces into salt water or sprinkle some salt over them to remove the bitter taste of eggplant and make it tastier. You can add eggplant to a variety of dishes like sambhar stew, pizza topping, and pasta sauce. To cook eggplant you can choose to roast it, fry it or grill it, marinated with some olive oil and seasoning. How to pick a good eggplantOne common question that pops up in most people mind while buying eggplant is which one to choose? Well the following tips will ensure you choose a good and tender eggplant that will delight you once cooked well. Firstly choose a small or medium sized eggplant, as the bitterness of eggplant increases as it matures so young eggplant will be sweet with soft seeds. Then look for the skin, it should be bright, shiny and smooth. Turn the eggplant to notice any blemishes, cuts or wrinkles as these denote that the eggplant was not stored or handled well and is not fresh. The eggplant should feel light as compared to its volume when held in hand and the skin should spring back when you apply some pressure with your finger. Keeping all these points in mind will ensure you get a nice eggplant for cooking. Do not cut your eggplants and then store them as they will perish quickly. Instead you can store the whole vegetable for several days in the refrigerator. Eggplant and Rice Serves 4IngredientsEggplant 2 no (medium size)Long grain rice 2 cupsButter 2 tbspOlive oil 2 tbspMustard powder 2 tspCumin 2 tspCinnamon 1 tspGinger, chopped 1 tbspGarlic, chopped 1 tbspRed bell pepper 1 noGreen bell pepper 1 noRaisin ¼ cupPistachio ¼ cupTomatoes puree 2 cupsTomato, chop 1 cupSalt To tasteBlack pepper To tasteParmesan cheese, grated 4 tbspMethodFirst cut the eggplant into half lengthwise and carefully hollow out the halves until there is 1 cm of flesh to the skin.Season the inside of the eggplant with salt and grease the skin with butter and keep aside.Cut the hollowed-out eggplant into dices and keep aside.In a heavy bottom sauce pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and add half of garlic and ginger and stir over medium heat.Add diced bell pepper, eggplant, cumin, cinnamon, mustard powder, raisin, pistachio and rice. Stir well to combine.Pour 4 cups of water into the pan and bring to boil, add seasoning.Simmer and leave it on slow flame till the rice is cooked and the water is evaporated.Remove from flame and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Scoop the prepared rice into the emptied eggplants and place them in baking tray. Sauté remaining garlic and ginger in a separate pan and add chopped tomato and tomato puree.Reduce to sauce consistency and adjust the seasoning, keep aside. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and add grated cheese on top and bake again till the cheese melts. Serve hot on the bed of prepared tomato sauce.