February: Fried Aubergine and Doogh
Serves 4
Estimated time for preparation and cooking: 1 hour and 15 mins
This friend aubergine meal is a vegetarian dish prepared and served by a young Afghan man in our Croydon Advice and Support Hub. This is the second dish he has made as a part of this project – a testament to how much he enjoys cooking. He shared that this is a dish he learned from his mother, though he slightly adapted how to prepare it as he served it to over 30 young people!
Ingredients
2 aubergines
1 large onion
3 large cloves of garlic
1 cucumber
Fresh mint
1 birds eye red chilli pepper (or chilli flakes)
3 medium sized tomatoes
Sunflower oil
Salt
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp black ground pepper
2 pots full-fat yoghurt (one small and one 500-gram pot)
Ice cubes (optional)
1.5 cups of water
Naan bread
Coriander
Recipe
1) Preparing your ingredients
a. Skin the aubergine and slice into circles, and then slice these in half.
b. Chop your onions into fine pieces.
c. Mince or chop the garlic.
d. Finely chop the mint, removing the stalks beforehand.
e. Finely chop the coriander.
f. Slice and quarter half of the cucumbers.
g. Chop your fresh chillies into small pieces.
h. Wash and chop the fresh tomatoes and remaining cucumbers into small pieces.
2. Frying the aubergine
a. Set your pot on the stove on a medium heat, before immediately adding a layer of sunflower oil – enough to submerge your aubergine slices in. Wait until the oil is sizzling.
b. Fry your aubergine slices in the oil for 6 minutes. Turn once in a while to check the aubergine is turning golden.
c. Remove the aubergine slices once done, and place on a plate with a paper towel. This will help to soak up the excess oil.
d. Dispose of the oil, or alternatively, use it for the next step.
3) Preparing the sauce
a. In a separate pot, pour in a little oil (either use remaining oil from the aubergines, or new oil). Bring to a low heat.
b. Add your onions and chopped tomatoes, as well as black pepper, turmeric, garlic, and chilli flakes / fresh chillies into the pot and simmer for 20 minutes.
c. After 20 minutes, add your cooked aubergine and mix for a further 5 minutes.
4) Preparing the doogh (recommended by a young person)
a. Put a full pot of yogurt (the 500g pot), 1.5 cups of water, fresh mint leaves, a few ice cubes, cucumber (quartered pieces) and salt together in a blender.
b. Blend until smooth. Doogh usually has a thin consistency, but if you would like a thicker consistency, add more yoghurt.
c. Garnish with mint leaves and serve in a cup.
5) Preparing the salad garnish
a. Add small cucumber pieces and small fresh tomato pieces into a bowl.
b. Add a pinch of salt and most of your finely chopped coriander, then mix.
6) Plating up
a. Plate up the aubergine and sauce onto a large plate, as shown in the photo, and sprinkle your coriander, cucumber and tomato mix on top. You can also leave some of the salad to enjoy on the side.
b. Add spoonfuls of yoghurt from the small pot on top, and garnish with coriander.