Thutilinanga Indonesian Chili Fried Eggplants/Aubergine

Eggplant also know as Aubergine is one of our favorite vegetables. Well technically it is a fruit but people use it as a vegetable. These veggies are in the same vegetable family as tomatoes, sweet peppers and potatoes. I know it's kind of weird thinking that all these vegetables belong in the same family. Eggplants/Aubergine come in a variety of shapes and colors but I think to most of us in the west we are most familiar with the long almost pear shape purple varieties. People in Asia are also familiar with long skinny, round and small eggplants. Since I've only had the long pear shaped I could not tell you how and if they differ in taste. Maybe some of my readers could enlighten me ?

Eggplants are very good for our bodies, have you ever noticed that the darker fruits,vegetables and greens are usually the best and healthiest options. They are a good source for Vitamins B1,B6 , dietary fiber, potassium, folic acid, magnesium, cooper, niacin, antioxidants and the list goes on. In studies Eggplants have also proven to lower cholesterol as well as help manage type 2 diabetes and their GI is 15 - quite low. In addition to being very beneficial to our bodies I find Eggplant to be a very versatile vegetable that will absorb any type of spices and sauces well so it makes a great cooking ingredient.

The recipe I'm sharing with you today is from one of my Indonesian cookbooks our FDG so kindly brought for me from Indonesia. ( I spoke about it here ) I'd like to tell you that my photo doesn't do the dish justice, Even though it doesn't look so pretty it really was delicious so delicious that I've made a several times now. I followed the recipe pretty much as in the book but one time I changed a couple of things, please see the notes. The eggplant was soft with a little bit of spiciness from the chili and all the flavors really came together. I hope you try the recipe and see how flavorful it tastes.

Ingredients:

(serves 2-3)

2 medium eggplants ( aubergine)*

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 red chili, thinly sliced ( or any color you have)

1-2 tsp. ground chillies

2 Roma tomatoes, quartered

1/4 tsp. salt

2 medium eggs,lightly beaten

6 3/4 oz or 200 ml thick coconut milk ( I have also substituted with vegetable broth)

In addition I have on occasions also added the following ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small piece of ginger, finely chopped

(*The recipe book calls for 4 Aubergines, they are refereeing to long and thin Asian Aubergines but instead I have used 2 large and thick western Aubergines. *)

1. Slice off both ends of the clean eggplants then slice them in half cutting widthwise. Take each half and slice into quarters lengthwise. Heat the oil and fry the eggplants until they have browned , making sure to turn so they fry on all sides. In the mean time slice the onion, chili and cut the tomatoes into quarters. Once the eggplants are browned and soften through place on a serving platter or large plate and set aside. In the same pan fry the onions until they are translucent then add the chili and fry for another 3 minutes. Next add the tomatoes, ground chili, and salt giving the ingredients a good stir. Fry until the tomatoes have broken down.

2. Next push the vegetables aside and add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, pour the beaten eggs. Cook the eggs though and break up to scrambled eggs. Stir and combine the egg into the vegetable mixture. Pour the thick coconut milk or if substituting like I have pour the vegetable broth. Stir to well combine all ingredients and allow to come to a boil.

Pour the vegetables mixture over the eggplants and serve.

The eggplant tasted much better than it looks in my photos, sorry the photos aren't very good. Both my husband and I really enjoyed them, we ate all of it. They were served on the side of Nasi Goreng for a Vegetarian dinner. ( Recipe for Nasi Goreng is here )

I leave you with another little fact about Eggplant/Aubergines , they are native to the Indian Sub-Continent and then were spread throughout many regions of the world. Funny I always pictured or thought they were native to Mediterranean areas in Europe.

* This dish can be enjoyed as a main dish or as a side dish. If you are a vegetarian and don't eat eggs I think Tofu instead of eggs would taste just as good. *