How to Make Spicy Eggplant Salad

Spicy Eggplant salad is a wonderful afghan recipe. It was taken from Afghanistan to India and thence to many parts of the world as nationals of those countries migrated to the west and onwards. Many searches are today performed for this dish and it is sometimes to locate it on the internet. That is the reason I am creating this article...to help people to get a better idea of this recipe through the internet.

To make spicy eggplant salad from Afghanistan, also called "bonjan" you will need a few simple ingredients. Indeed, these ingredients can be easily procured from your nearby supermarket or market square...depending on what part of the world you live. If some of the ingredients cannot be found in your region, you can use culinary skills to substitute with an ingredient of similar culinary properties.

That said, let's get down to business. The recipe for which I am writing this article yields just one serving. You may adjust the ingredients proportionally to cater for more than one serving. Below is a list of what you will need:

You will need three medium eggplants. You will need a quarter of a teaspoon pepper. You will need two and a half teaspoons kosher salt. You will need one teaspoon hot red chili flakes or, lacking that, one teaspoon minced fresh chiles. You will need one quarter of a cup of corn oil. You will need two teaspoons ground cinnamon. You will need one and half cups of tomato sauce. You will need one teaspoon of crushed dried mint.

Now here is how you go about making this wonderful spicy eggplant salad, also called "bonjan", which hails from the heart of the Afghanistan.

First you cut the eggplants in a crosswise manner. Each piece should be about 1.5 inches thick. Then you sprinkle those cut eggplants with 2 teaspoons coarse or kosher salts. You will now have to let this stand for about 15 minutes by itself. In this time span, you can occupy yourself with something productive, but I cannot advise you particular thing because each individual is unique and presents himself in a unique situation. After the fifteen minutes have passed, rinse the sliced and salted eggplants under cold water. This step is important in order to remove the bitter taste that the eggplants carry. After that, take some paper towel and dry the eggplants which you have rinsed. Make sure to dry them thoroughly!

Remember the quarter of a cup of corn oil that I told you about? Great. You will have to heat that oil in a skillet until quite hot. Then fry the eggplants (which are now properly cut, rinsed and dried and were let alone for fifteen minutes) for about three minutes, or until lightly brown. After you have fried the eggplants to a "light brown" state, remove them and put them into a serving bowl. Let is cool in the bowl.

Now you will have to take the one and a half cups of tomato sauce, the one teaspoon hot red chili flakes or minced fresh chile, the two teaspoons ground cinnamon, the one tablespoon crushed dried mint and half a teaspoon of salt and put them into a pan. Simmer these ingredients over low heat for about ten minutes so that the flavors may be integrated. You then pour this over the eggplants and refrigerate until ready to use. This salad can stay in the refrigerator for several day. It should be served cold or at room temperature. That was easy wasn't it? And fun too. Now you can go try making your very own spicy eggplant salad from Afghanistan. Happy cooking.

This article comes to you with the kind compliments of the Platinum Recipes Collection: http://www.platinumrecipescollection.com

To learn more about this and other great Afghan recipes, go here: http://www.platinumrecipescollection.com/afghan-recipes/spicy-eggplant-salad.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patrick_Carpen