Home Grown Eggplant Casserole

1 big Italian eggplant

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp salt

oil to pan fry

Slice the eggplant into 1/4" vertically. Marinate the slices with turmeric and salt for 15 minutes. Then remove the liquid onto a paper towel or squeeze it out by pressing between the palm. Pan fry the eggplant slices and leave aside.

Make the sauce

2 tbsp oil

1/2 cup minced meat

2 tbsp onion

1 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp ginger grated

1 green chillie

1/2 tsp chillie powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup tomatoes

1 tomato sliced to garnish

1/4 cup cheese grated

Heat oil sauté the onion, garlic, ginger, green chillie, minced meat with the spices. Keep mixing and when the minced meat is separated add the tomatoes. Cook covered till it becomes a thick sauce.

In a baking dish layer the eggplants in single layer, pour the meat sauce over it. Then put another layer of eggplant and pour the remaining sauce over it. Place the sliced tomatoes and then sprinkle the grated cheese over it.

Bake at 375F for 10 to 15 minutes till the cheese is melted.

Check torviewtoronto for a vegetarian version of the eggplant casserole, this was served as a side dish with Rice with vermicelli.

More ideas on using eggplant

Eggplant rice

Eggplant curry stuffed with coconut

Lentil vegetable stew

Steamed eggplant salad

Sweet and spicy eggplant pickle curry

A little about planting Brinjal or Eggplants.

This is my first time planting eggplants in the garden. I bought the plant in a small pot in Spring and planted it on the ground after the frost when the soil was warm.

The beautiful violet flowers are delicate and will fall off easily when the night temperature is cool. Flowers produce the fruit, so the amount of fruit produced depends on the flowers that mature. The tops are thorny which protects the eggplant from insects.

To harvest cut the eggplant with scissors when the skin is glossy and firm. The size of the eggplant depends on the variety. When it grows bigger there are more seeds inside. We enjoyed and loved picking eggplants from the garden, it is amazing just to watch it turning into a vegetable from a flower.

If you want to grown in a container use a container that is at least 18" in diameter and deep, but I find planting in a raised bed is easier.

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