Creating your account...
Thanks for joining HalfHourMeals.com!
An unexpected error occurred. Please try again.
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Difficulty:
easy
- Serves:
8
Smoked Eggplant & Yogurt Dip
Description
Raita is a yogurt based sauce or dip. Usually, raita is very simple with either some cumin or some mint and cucumber, or pineapple pieces, etc. But this is a very flavorful raita with smoked eggplant, garlic and ginger. I had it first along with a very delicious Bengali dinner, I asked for the recipe and had been making it at home since then. Normally, raita is served along with spicy dishes and eaten to cool down the fire in your mouth. It can also be served as a dip along with starters. Finally, if you add some chopped tomatoes and chop the onion and eggplant flesh instead of blending them, you can have it as as Indian salad. Enjoy!
add to shopping list Ingredients
1 large eggplant
2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 cm ginger piece, peeled and coarsely chopped
1-2 green chili peppers, halved, seeds removed and chopped
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup natural yogurt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds*
1-2 tablespoons lime/lemon juice
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
a handful of fresh coriander, chopped (optional)
Preparation
1. First we need to smoke the eggplant, which you can do either on a grill or, as I do it, over a gas stove. Wash the eggplant, make a few holes with a fork, smear with the olive oil and put it straight on a medium flame of your gas stove. Keep turning it frequently until it becomes soft inside, it takes me around 10 minutes. Let it cool down until you can touch it.
2. Peel the smoked eggplant and remove the stalks.
3. Put into a food processor the garlic cloves, ginger, onion and eggplant flesh and blend it for a moment until it mixes well and until you get a desired consistency. In India, they usually like it a little bit chunky.
4. Beat the yogurt lightly and fold it into the eggplant flesh. Add fresh lime/lemon juice and salt to taste. Cover and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to serve it.
5. In a small pan, dry roast the cumin seeds and once it cools down either grind them in a spice grinder or in a pestle and mortar.
6. Just before serving, garnish with fresh coriander and powdered roasted cumin.
*Instead of cumin seeds you can garnish it with paprika powder.
