I had this notion that Eggplants,Tamarind and Okra belonged to a group of vegetables called the 'Asura' veggies, meaning devil's vegetables. How the hell did I get this idea ? From the junk books you buy from the fair grounds !! Some of these books that you buy from a fair ground are treasure boxes of ridiculous suggestions and superstitions.
My grandfather used to have at least one Brinjal plant (as we call eggplants in India) in his backyard. There are times when there is an immense harvest and Eggplant appears as spicy chutney in the breakfast table and as stir fries, curries and dry dishes for dinner. We had an overload of eggplants during the fruit bearing season and naturally as kids we hated it.
Later on in my life, when I started to cook properly, I have learned to love eggplants and now it features in my shopping list every week. I love them in all the three colours and all the different shapes. This week I got the purple round one and of course I have to make a salad with it. It is also the time of the year when you get Purple Sweet Potato (Kumara as Maoris call it) so it makes the carbohydrate part of my one pot wonder food.
Roast a couple of peppers over the flame. Let it cool and chop it into chunks.
Steam eggplant, bamboo shoots. sweet potato and any other vegetable you want to add.
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a wok and drop a teaspoon of Cumin seeds. When it splutters and the aroma rises, add the steamed veggies and give it a stir.
Add some green leaves like Spinach or Bakcoy and spruce it up with chopped cilantro and ginger. Add salt and pepper.
A final stir and the salad is for you to enjoy.
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