Recipes from my kitchen

Cumin Roasted Eggplant

To give this dish a little twist I added black mustard seeds.  Interestingly enough these seeds contain the essential Omega-3 fatty acids, and the amino acids selenium and tryptophan.  Eggplant has been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels (1) along with providing the body with antioxidants (2) and when grown organically could provide additional quercetin (3). 

Ingredients: 

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 tsp Black Mustard Seeds

3 large Eggplants

1/4 cup Red Onion, chopped

2 tsps Red Wine Vinegar

1 tsp Honey (or sugar)

2 Tbsp Grape Seed Oil (or olive oil)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Wash eggplants and place on a baking sheet. 

Roast whole eggplant until blackened and tender, turning frequently.

Should take 20 to 30 minutes. When ready set eggplant aside to cool.

Toast the cumin, garam masala and black mustard seeds in a heavy skillet, over medium heat, until fragrant.

When eggplant has cooled for about 10 minutes, remove skin and coarsely chop.

Place into skillet and add the onion, vinegar, sugar, oil, and salt.

Mix together and heat for 5 minutes. Serve as a side dish or over rice as a meal.

References: 

1. S. Sudheesh, G. Presannakumar, S. Vijayakumur and N.R. Vijayalakshmi, Hypolipidemic effect of flavonoids from Solanum melongena, Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 51 (1997), pp. 321–330.

2. H.Y. Huang, C.K. Chang, T.K. Tso, J.J. Huang, W.W. Chang and W.C. Tsai, Antioxidant activities of various fruits and vegetables produced in Taiwan, International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition 55 (2004), pp. 423–429.

3. A. Singh, D. Luthria, T. Wilson, N. Vorsa, V. Singh, G. Banuelos and S. Pasakdee, Polyphenols content and antioxidant capacity of eggplant, Food Chemistry 114 (2009) pp. 955-961.