roasted eggplant chutney

This probably holds true for many of us who blog about food.  That we can get a bit crazy when it comes to props.  We covet and we collect.    We recruit spouses and send them off with a list when they go on business trips; remember forgotten things from our childhood and make long-distance calls home leading to attic explorations, ask relatives, ask friends, ask friends of friends….and in the case of my Sandesh molds – a relay message to my sister’s friend’s colleague in Kolkata.  Think nothing of eyeballing trash outside homes during a morning walk…just in case we find our treasure:)  Because we all know, there is always something out there that we think would look perfect through our lens!

So when I was in India last year, I came upon this soapstone Rachippa tucked away in a corner in my mom’s kitchen.  I remembered my amamma (maternal grandmother) serving pacchadis (chutneys) in it when we were kids and my mother remembers her amamma serving in this, so it originally belonged to my great-grandmother.  In the pre-stainless steel days, foods that contained something sour like tamarind or lemon juice were cooked and stored in these stone dishes to prevent them from reacting with the metal.  Naturally, my food blogger eyes lit up and I asked my mom if I could have it.  Carefully packed, it crossed the oceans and made it’s way to my home to become one of my most cherished possessions.  When I look at it, I think of the hands that held it before mine, how my hands are connected to them and I am overcome by a feeling of reverence for this bowl made of stone that symbolizes continuity and tradition.

A couple of days back, my friend who has the greenest of thumbs (unlike me!) shared some of  the bounty from her garden – these gorgeous eggplants.  After thinking of the all the ways I could do justice to their loveliness, I settled on a eggplant chutney my amamma used to make by first fire-roasting them over hot coals to give them a wonderfully smoky flavor.  Since I don’t have a grill or a coal stove, I used my gas burner. If you are going to char it over a gas burner, please be very careful because the little flecks of hot soot can fly around!  If you have an outdoor grill, that would be perfect as also broiling it in the oven.

The seasoning in this chutney is very minimal which lets the eggplant really hold center-stage.  If you like eggplant, I am pretty sure you will like this chutney.  Although it does not have the richness of nuts or cream or a large variety of masalas often found in restaurant fare, this might just win you over with its sheer simplicity. Do try it once….if not with Indian food, maybe over a cracker with some cream cheese or scooped up with some multi-grain pita bread!

Roasted Eggplant Pacchadi

Printable recipe

4 medium eggplant (to give approx. 1 1/2 cups after roasting)
1 tbsp canola, peanut or any neutral oil
2 kashmiri red chillies (use any variety but reduce the amount to one, since they may be spicier)
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 tsp tamarind pulp (I use this brand)
3-4 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
salt to taste

Roast the eggplants over a gas flame or in the broiler until the skin turns black and starts to crack and the flesh has softened.  You can check this by piercing it with a knife and it should go smoothly through.  If you have a grill, that is the best option!

Let the eggplant cool completely before you peel it.  I usually cover the eggplants with a big bowl for about 15 mins and the skin softens with the steam.

Peel the eggplant and cut the stem.  Gather it in a bowl.

Heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds.  Once the mustard seeds start to pop, add the dried red chilies and wait for a few seconds until they start to puff up and expand slightly.  They will turn slightly darker  and get crisp (the chillies also burn very easily so be mindful of this step).

Add the tamarind pulp and stir for a few seconds.  Remove from stove.

Add the above seasoning to the eggplant.  If you don’t have tamarind, you can add some lemon juice to give it a little tang.

Add salt to taste and mix everything well, crushing the red chillies with your fingers as you are mixing.  Since the chillies are crisp, they will crumble into an almost powder form very easily.

Add the chopped cilantro and mix again.

Variations:

-You can add a big pinch of asafoetida and 1/2 tsp of urad dal to the oil and wait till the urad dal starts to turn golden brown, before adding the mustard and cumin seeds.

– Add half a chopped tomato to the seasoning and fry until it turns soft before adding to the eggplant.

– Mix the chutney in some yogurt to make it more like an eggplant raita.

* Also a quick note about the tamarind pulp.  Once opened, it stays fresh in the fridge for 4-6 weeks.  Since I use a lot of it, a can does not last beyond that time for me.  If you use it rarely, you can pour it in ice-cube trays and transfer the frozen cubes to a ziploc and return to freezer.  These cubes will last for at least a year!