Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a great culinary conquest of Baingan. It's amazing to know how a cold region like Eastern Europe is in love with the delicious tropical delicacy like Baingan. Let's begin our journey.
1 Salata De Vinete - Romanian, Hungary and Moldova
2 Baklazhannaia ikra - Russia, Ukrain , Poland
Salata De Vinete
This is a summer delight of the otherwise cold regions in Romania, Hungary , Moladova and around.
Ingredients
1. Bhoona Baingan - 500 gm
2. Sunflower Oil - 50 ml , ( Cold pressed sunflower oil is preferred over refined oil for its natural aroma )
3. Red Onion - 2 large
4. Green parsley
5. Sunflower Seeds- for seasoning
6. Salt to taste
Bring the Bhoona Baingan out of your refrigerator and let it thaw to the room temperature. This saves you the time and efforts in the messy job of roasting Baingan on the open flame, cooling , peeling, cleaning and mashing it.
Peel and Finely chop the red onion into small pieces.
Add the Bhoonaa Baingan in a bowl, slowly add the sunflower oil while vigourously beating the Bhoona Baigan. This wil ensure that the flavourful sunflower oil gets uniformly mixed into the paste. Add the chopped onions and salt to the beaten mixture and mix again. Sprinkle some roasted sunflower seeds to add crunch to the soft texture . Finely chopp parsley and season your Salata De Vinete. Serve cold with fresh bread.
Baklazhannaia ikra - ( Baingan Caviar) Russia, Ukrain , Poland
Ikra in Russian is Caviar in English. It is one of the most luxurious foods you can buy on this earth. Russians obviously know how to name their beloved Baingan delicacy. They named it Baklazhannaia ikra , i.e. Baingan Caviar!
Ingredients
1. Bhoona Baingan - 500 gm
2. Green , Yellow and Red bell pepper , one each.
3. Carrot- 1 , medium sized.
3. Red Onion - 1 Large sized
4. Green parsley
5. Tomato 1
6. Salt to taste
7. Cooking oil
Bring the Bhoona Baingan out of your refrigerator and let it thaw to the room temperature in a bowl. This saves you the time and efforts in the messy job of roasting Baingan on the open flame, cooling , peeling, cleaning and mashing it.
Take a thick bottomed skillet. Add 2 Tbsp of cooking oil. When the oil is heated, add finely chopped onion and saute till translucent. Do not brown the onion to retain a hint of the sweetness, go all the way to crispy brown if you prefer it less of sweet. Add diced bell peppers and grated carrots. Sauté until softened (10-15 minutes). At this point , add the thawed Bhoona Baingan , diced tomatoes and salt in the skillet and sauté untill excess runny tomatoe juces evaporate and the baingan sizzles slightly browned. The entire content of the skillet shall have a consistent smooth paste with just a little bit of chunky texture of diced veggies
Your Baingan Caviar is ready.
Kyopolou - Bulgaria
Ingredients
1. Bhoona Baingan - 500 gm
2. Green , Yellow and Red bell pepper , one each.
3. Roasted Garlic Paste - 2-3 tea spoon / Fresh Garlic - 7-10 cloves.
4. Dill- for seasoning.
5. Tomato 2
6. Salt to taste
7. Extra virgin olive oil 30-50 ml
8. Red wine vinegar as per taste.
Bring the Bhoona Baingan out of your refrigerator and let it thaw to the room temperature in a bowl. This saves you the time and efforts in the messy job of roasting Baingan on the open flame, cooling , peeling, cleaning and mashing it.
Meanwhile, roast bell peppers and tomatoes till their outer skin is about 80% charred and the inner flesh is soft. . Peel off the charred skinn and dice them . Roasting the bell peppers and tomatoes gives a matching smoky flavour to Bhoona Baingan's smokiness. Put the peppers and tomatoes in a grinder. Add roasted garlic paste, a dash of red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Grind the contents to a chunky texture.
Add this ground mix to the bowl full of Bhoona Bainga. Sprinkle kosher salt to your taste, mix it well and serve.