"Eww...eggplant..so mushy...eww," said young Karishma. "Hmm...how can I make eggplant not so mushy," said "chef" Karishma.
I used to HATE eggplant as a kid. Whenever my mom made anything with eggplant, I used to pick it out because I didn't like the texture. But lately I've been giving it another chance and I actually don't mind it at all. I made this when my mother-in-law was in town back in April (yes, this is a very late post). She loves trying new things so this gave me an opportunity to create a new recipe.
Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup greek yogurt (vegan yogurt can be used as well)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chopped dill (or any herb of your choice)
salt and pepper, to taste
Steps
- Whisk all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Polenta Crusted Eggplant
Ingredients
1 long eggplant
1/4 cup almond milk (regular milk if you don't care about this dish being vegan)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup polenta
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika (more if you want it spicy)
1 tbsp chopped dill (or any herb of your choice)
salt and pepper, to taste
Steps
- Pre-heat the oven to 275º F.
- Cut the eggplant in 1/4 inch slices, sprinkle some salt and set aside for a few minutes. Dab the eggplant slices with a paper towel to remove excess water. This will help keep the eggplant crispy and not get mushy.
- Add the spices to the polenta. 4. Dip the eggplant slices in flour.
- Dip the eggplant+flour slices in Almond milk.
- Dip the eggplant+flour+Almond milk slices in Polenta+spice mixture.
- Place the eggplant slices on a parchment paper lined baking pan.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, turn them over and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
- Serve with yogurt sauce.
