Eggplant & Tomatoes in Mustard Sauce

Begun Tomato Shorshe

Oriental eggplants, onions and tomatoes are cooked in a coarse ground mustard sauce. It generally takes a while to prepare black mustard seeds for this dish. To remove the bitterness from black mustard seeds, they are generally soaked in salt-water for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight. They are then blended to a smooth paste.

Ingredients:

4 Oriental eggplants, cut in half lengthwise & sliced in crescents
1 large onion, peeled and sliced

2 Roma tomatoes, diced
4 oz. frozen peas
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

½ tsp. nigella seeds (kalo jeera/kalonji)

2 tsp. ginger paste

2 Tbsp. black mustard seeds
1/2 cup water + 1/2 tsp. salt

Salt to taste

2–3 hot green chillies, left whole

Directions:

1. Soak mustard seeds for 1/2 hour or overnight.
2. Drain mustard seeds, add salted water along with 1 green chilli, blend to a smooth paste & set aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat and fry nigella seeds.

3. When nigella seeds begin to sputter and sizzle, add first three ingredients, ginger paste and salt.

4. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until vegetables are tender.

5. Adjust salt to taste, peas and mustard paste.

6. Stir-fry for 2 more minutes until vegetables are coated with sauce.

7. Garnish with whole chilies and transfer to a serving dish.

Serve with steamed Basmati rice or chapatis.

Note:

The eggplants can be replaced with several other vegetables, such as green beans, cauliflower, potatoes, zucchini, ridge gourd (jhinge), sweet potatoes, pumpkin, etc.