Aubergine with Crushed Mustard Seeds and Yoghurt

Curry-Palooza #5

Margie chose the recipe for this month's Curry-Palooza project and you can see the recipe here.  The recipe is another from Madjur Jaffrey, found at  My Kitchen Table.

This was actually the second time I made the recipe. First time, I had a couple of problems. One involved removing the cover, turning up the heat, and cooking off most of the liquid. By the time that happened, the eggplant was practically mush. The next problem involved the yogurt step. When I opened the top of the Greek yogurt, I was hit by the fragrance of strawberries!  Buying strawberry yogurt rather than plain was not the only grocery shopping mistake I made that weekend.  (New job on my mind). I wound up adding some half and half for the creamy aspect. 

I think I did better the second time, although it is still not a pretty dish.  I left it saucier because I was serving it over Basmati rice, plus I didn't want the eggplant to break down so much like it did the first time. 

This recipe is very different from any curry I have ever eaten.  My understanding is that it is an East Indian recipe using a common Bengali spice mixture, panchphoran, which consists of equal parts fennel seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and nigella seeds.  I ordered the spice mixture because the only ingredient I could buy locally was the mustard seed. 

We loved the complex yet mild flavor of this dish.  I especially enjoyed the pleasant crunch on my teeth from the seeds.

Curry-Palooza is a monthly event which explores Indian curries. We are having a lot of fun with this event and take turns choosing recipes. which can be from any source--magazine, cookbook, blog, or other. We would love to have you cook along with us. Canille will be choosing the next recipe and you could be the next--just let us know and you're in!

Curry-Palooza Club
Me, Sage Trifle
Grapefruit, Needful Things
Margie, More Please
Camille, Croque-Camille