This week I got a little nostalgic. The first date Chad ever took me on was at an amazing restaurant in Seattle called Kabul. I had never had Afghan food before (actually I had never been taken on a proper date before, but that's another entry for another day) and everything on the menu sounded exquisite. I remember trying to order the least expensive entree on the menu in case he wasn't paying for everything at the end of the night (he did, but remember, first proper date) and it happened to be this incredible dish that I attempted last night. There is no way I could make it as well as Wally (the owner who I met that night) but it was quite good and something I'll probably make again.
RECIPE #4: BADENJAN BURANEE
(Afghan Eggplant with Mint and Yogurt Sauce)
Choice of libation: hot toddy (though we didn't have whiskey, so I added tequila and apple spice ginger liqueur to ginger tea, lemon and honey)
Choice of music: Sharon Jones' I Learned the Hard Way (soul warming, like a hot toddy)
Last night's hot toddy
not to be confused with King of Burlesque 2009, Hot Toddy
(disclaimer: I had had a particularly bad day and might have over done it on the tequila and was a little hangry, so my interpretation of the recipe may have been a bit...wrong)
If I were to do this again, I would not have cut the eggplant like this. I would definitely have just cut it in thick round slices and they would have cooked more evenly. I don't know what I was thinking. Oh, yeah. Tequila.
I have never had to peel tomatoes before. The internet told me I could do it one of three ways: boiling it in water, skinning it with a knife or holding it over a gas stove. That last one sounded the fastest and most fun, so I heated the tomato till it started to blister (maybe 15 seconds) and peeled it pretty easily.
This sauce is everything. I am making it every week forever.
Yogurt, mint, garlic, sea salt, pepper, life changer.
UGH. WHY DID I CUT THE EGGPLANT THIS WAY? WHY?!
Though the recipe didn't call for it, I used sweet onions because I like them in everything.
As with many of the recipes I choose, there was a little waiting period, where things have to simmer.
So I listened to more Sharon Jones and shook it out. There are no pictures of that moment, but probably it looked a lot like this.
Pippin, of course, would be Ashley, and I would be Will.
So it turned out rather well, considering how drunk I was and how dizzy I was from whipping my hair back and forth. I think I actually would have cooked it a little longer than what the recipe called for, so the flavors could develop, but it was a really fantastic dish. It's usually served with basmati rice, but I didn't do that either. Because. Tequila.
This recipe was stolen from
halalmama.blogspot.com/
2 eggplants
1 large onion, sliced
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and diced
Salt
Cayenne pepper (optional)
Trim stem off from the eggplant. Do not peel. Quarter eggplant lengthwise (half and then in half again lengthwise). Sprinkle with a little salt and leave in a colander to drain for about 15 minutes. Rinse the eggplant and then pat dry with paper towel.
Add oil to large frying pan and fry eggplant on both sides until they begin to turn brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from frying pan and set aside.
Using the oil that stayed in the frying pan and adding more if needed, sauté onions until they start to wilt, 3 to 5 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes or so.
Place fried eggplant on top of the cooking onions and tomatoes, add 1 cup of hot water, salt and cayenne pepper (optional) to taste. Let cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until water has dried out and eggplant is falling apart.
Transfer eggplant to serving plate. Top with plain yogurt or garlic yogurt sauce with mint.
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