Sami Grover
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I am trying to get better at using leftovers, eating what I have, avoiding food waste with the grocery pause. I must be doing something right because earlier this week I opened the vegetable drawer in our fridge, and discovered only two eggplants and some celery. But I had a dilemma—I don't really like eggplant, and neither does my wife.
Thinking back, I remembered that besides eggplant parmesan (which we ate last week), the only eggplant dishes I've ever really enjoyed have been Indian or Southeast Asian curries. So the recipe below was my rather scrambled attempt at recreating those.
Ingredients
Eggplants - 2 small, or 1 large, cubed.
Onion - 1, diced.
Garlic cloves - 2, minced or finely chopped.
Fresh ginger - about a thumb-sized piece, finey chipped or grated.
Red lentils - about a cup full.
Good quality curry powder - or make your own with tumeric, ground cumin, ground coriander and a little hot pepper. Use as much or as little as you like.
Black onion seed (optional - sometimes sold as kolanji in specialist stores) - about a teaspoonfull, maybe two.
Broth - we had some left-over chicken broth in the fridge, but veggie broth will be fine.
1 can of tomatoes.
Sour cream or yoghurt - about a tablespoon full, maybe two.
Juice of half a lemon.
Saute the onions and eggplant until just beginning to brown over a medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger, and continue to saute for another few minutes. Add the spices, and the red lentils, and saute for another 30 seconds, stirring constantly until the aroma of the spices is released. Add tomatoes and broth, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Before serving, stir in some sour cream or yoghurt, and squeeze in the lemon juice.
If you had it, you might want to also sprinkle with chopped cilantro, but we didn't - ours had gone slimy a few days before. I guess nobody is perfect. (Although if you want to get serious about avoiding food waste, Colleen's suggestions for 50 ways to never waste food again is a great place to start!)
Check Out a Recipe for White Bean and Parsley Pesto from Emeril Green's Pantry Raid Episode!
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Salivating over sustainable eats? Learn how to make your own with help from Emeril Lagasse in Planet Green TV's organic cooking show, Emeril Green.
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