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What is a brinjal ?Karen Lee finds out aboutthis vegetable with manynames.Ilove finding out about and tryingdifferent fruits and vegetables andcoming to India is a great opportunityto use ingredients I have read aboutin cookery books but not found inthe shops in my small town at home.Many vegetables have the same namewhere ever you may be in the world;a few have a number of aliases. Onesuch vegetable is brinjal. I had neverheard that name prior to my arrival inBangalore. In the UK and many partsof Europe, it’s an aubergine. In the US,Canada, Australia and NZ, an eggplant.Even in India brinjal has many differentnames, including baingan in Hindi(which literally translates as “noexceptional qualities”!) and badane inKannada.To me, an aubergine was a large, oval,deep purple vegetable that is bitter andmushy when cooked. In India, there arethought to be 2000 varieties of brinjal,from tiny to giant (1kg in weight),oval, round, long, thin, bulbous, pricklyand in many hues – deep purple, redpurple,green, yellow, white, stripedand even orange. I’ve been told thatchayote (or chow chow) is a brinjal,even though it’s a squash and thereforecompletely different. No wonder Iget rather confused at the vegetablecounter! Rather interestingly, brinjal areactually a fruit – a berry to be preciseas it contains many seeds. These are thebitter part; they contain nicotine as thebrinjal plant is a close relative of thetobacco plant. But don’t worry aboutbecoming addicted as you would needto eat 9kg of brinjal to get the sameamount of nicotine in one cigarette.Brinjal is a key ingredient in manyIndian dishes. Highly nutritious, it’sknown as both “poor man’s meat” andthe “king of vegetables” possibly from aTamil folk tale (it has a crown!). Highlyadaptable, it can be cooked in manyways – baked, roasted, BBQ’ed, fried,pickled, used for dips and chutneys andeven soufflé. Eaten raw, brinjal are lowcalorie with high water content and anexcellent source of potassium and otherkey nutrients such as calcium, folicacid, vitamin C and other anti-oxidants.Unfortunately they do absorb oil andso become high calorie if fried. Whencut, brinjal oxidise rapidly and shouldA small brinjal selectionbe placed in salty water to prevent theflesh turning brown. This should alsohelp reduce some of the bitterness. Usedin many different dishes, for festivals ordaily use; each area of India has theirown speciality using brinjal – Baigan kabharta in North India, Enna KathirikaiKoulubu, Tamil style, in Sambhar inthe South and apparently an excellentvangibaath (brinjal puloo) at MTR inBangalore!As well as delicious dishes, brinjalhas medicinal properties and is usedfor a wide variety of illnesses suchas lowering cholesterol and bloodpressure, diabetes and some cancers.It is believed to treat bowel problemssuch as flatulence and even used in apaste for haemorrhoids! Beware though,as it is also thought to have “heating”properties that can lead to “melancholiaand madness”.Recipe of the Month:Brinjal CurryDry fry 2 teaspoons of sesame seeds and grind with alittle water to form a paste. Grind half a coconut andkeep separate. Then grind half an onion, handful ofcoriander, 4 tomatoes. Combine the tomato and sesameseed paste and add 350mls of water with chilli powderand garam masala (to taste). Put to one side.Dissolve 2 tsp of tamarind paste in 100mls of hot water.Choose 6-8 brinjals – small oval ones are good – slice offthe “crown” then cut into four without chopping rightthrough, so the brinjal remains intact but the flesh opens– pop in a bowl of salted water to prevent oxidation.Next heat a small amount of oil in a large pan and temperhalf a chopped onion, tsp each of mustard seeds andcumin seeds, 10 black peppercorns, handful of methi andcurry leaves, 5-10 whole garlic cloves, 2 tbsp garlicpaste, tsp of turmeric and a pinch of asafoetida. Thenadd the brinjal and fry with the lid on for 2 minutes toallow the oil to soak in to the brinjal. Once everything hasbrowned slightly, add the tomato mixture and a teaspoonof salt. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 10 minutes.Then add the ground coconut and simmer for15-20minutes until the sauce thickens slightly and theraw curry smell softens. Serve with rice or bread. Ifthere’s any left over, this curry keeps well for a few daysin the fridge.Karen Lee’s cook makes this delicious brinjal curry – evenher family who are not really brinjal fans enjoy it.The Rangoli 11/2010 33