Eggplant in Yogurt Sauce

Doi Begun

I used Japanese eggplants for this recipe, but any type of eggplant will do. During my years of cooking eggplant, I've noticed that if it is chopped prior to cooking, it helps retain its shape better if the pieces of eggplant are marinated in salt and set aside in a sieve in the sink for half an hour. Especially if the skin is left intact, eggplant tend to be somewhat bitter and the marination in salt eliminates this tendency. 

Greek yogurt imparts a creamy texture to the gravy in this dish. The yogurt should be taken out of the refrigerator and brought to room temperature before cooking. It also needs to be whipped well and added to the hot pan after reducing the heat to low, one tablespoon at a time and mixed into the gravy with each addition. The yogurt is added a tablespoon at a time so that it does not separate. Be very gentle when adding the yogurt so that the pieces of eggplant do not disintegrate.

Stir-Fried Cauliflower with Potatoes & Shrimp

Phool Kopi Alu Aar Chingri

This is a popular dish in Bengali households in India. Alu Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower) is a common item on menus at Indian restaurants and is a favourite vegetarian side dish. The addition of shrimp in this recipe takes it up a notch to satisfy the non-vegetarian palate. The shrimp can be omitted if you wish to serve Alu Gobi in its vegetarian form.