So I had this eggplant. I don't normally eat eggplant, and I'm actually pretty sure I'm never cut one open before. Eggplant is the kind of thing that shows up in the curry someone else at the table orders and I have a few bites of.
But I had this eggplant.
So I googled and found an easy-looking recipe for fried eggplant rounds. And the verdict..... yeah I'm not making that one again. But I might make a variant on it, especially with zucchini or something other than eggplant.
Short recipe:
1 eggplant, cut into 0.5in thick rounds.
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 quart vegetable oil, for frying.
Instructions:
1. Mix the cornmeal, chili powder, and oregano in a small dish. Add some salt. Dredge the eggplant slices through it to create breading.
2. Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan. Fry the eggplant rounds, 2-3 minutes a side, adding oil whenever you need more oil.
And the result? Well, let's put it this way. I ate them, but I ate them with ketchup. They weren't inedible, just not very good. Bland, and mushy. I thought the instruction to regularly add more oil was weird, until I started cooking - and realised that no, the eggplant is like a sponge, absorbing all the oil. So you need more oil or it won't fry. And then it's saturated with oil when it comes out, bleeds oil when you cut into it, and drips. I don't think I used anywhere near a full quart of oil (I had to look up what a quart was. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, USE METRIC. OR AT LEAST "cups" BECAUSE THOSE ARE SOMEWHAT NORMAL FOOD MEASUREMENTS) and it was still too much. I added *way* more salt, ate 'em with ketchup, and they were still kinda bland and mushy. And the cornmeal was crunchy - little bits of solid cornmeal, sticking in my teeth and giving a rather unpleasant mouth-feel. I just used generic cornmeal, is there a variant that's more like powder and less like sand?
I think if the cornmeal had been powdered and they'd been cooked on a grill instead of fried in oil, they'd have been better.
Anyway. Suggestions for altering the recipe to make it not bad? Or have a preferred way of cooking eggplant that's just way better?
But I had this eggplant.
So I googled and found an easy-looking recipe for fried eggplant rounds. And the verdict..... yeah I'm not making that one again. But I might make a variant on it, especially with zucchini or something other than eggplant.
Short recipe:
1 eggplant, cut into 0.5in thick rounds.
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 quart vegetable oil, for frying.
Instructions:
1. Mix the cornmeal, chili powder, and oregano in a small dish. Add some salt. Dredge the eggplant slices through it to create breading.
2. Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan. Fry the eggplant rounds, 2-3 minutes a side, adding oil whenever you need more oil.
And the result? Well, let's put it this way. I ate them, but I ate them with ketchup. They weren't inedible, just not very good. Bland, and mushy. I thought the instruction to regularly add more oil was weird, until I started cooking - and realised that no, the eggplant is like a sponge, absorbing all the oil. So you need more oil or it won't fry. And then it's saturated with oil when it comes out, bleeds oil when you cut into it, and drips. I don't think I used anywhere near a full quart of oil (I had to look up what a quart was. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, USE METRIC. OR AT LEAST "cups" BECAUSE THOSE ARE SOMEWHAT NORMAL FOOD MEASUREMENTS) and it was still too much. I added *way* more salt, ate 'em with ketchup, and they were still kinda bland and mushy. And the cornmeal was crunchy - little bits of solid cornmeal, sticking in my teeth and giving a rather unpleasant mouth-feel. I just used generic cornmeal, is there a variant that's more like powder and less like sand?
I think if the cornmeal had been powdered and they'd been cooked on a grill instead of fried in oil, they'd have been better.
Anyway. Suggestions for altering the recipe to make it not bad? Or have a preferred way of cooking eggplant that's just way better?