This recipe is one that many Gujaratis love, but I think we don't make it often because we may feel it is greasy. Well, I have a solution for that!
My mum always coated her aubergine slices with a little chickpea flour and I never knew why. Then I tested a group of aubergine slices without chickpea flour and a group with it and I instantly knew why she did this! The aubergine slices with the chickpea flour absorbed a fraction of the oil that the ones without the chickpea flour did! It was like someone shared a magical trick with me!
So now I'm showing you how to make these delicious palita, which are better for you with the chickpea flour, not only because they are less greasy, but because chickpea flour adds a bit of protein & helps the spices stick too! So give this method a go! I think you'll be as surprised as I was! ENJOY!
Ringan Palita (Paleta) (Aubergine Slices) Cooking Time: 30 Minutes (Approx)
Serves 3-4 People
INGREDIENTS
1 Aubergine /Eggplant about 350g-260g
2 TBSP Ginger-Garlic-Chili Paste
1 1/2 TBS Coriander-Cumin Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp Red Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala or Black Pepper
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Sugar (optional)
4 TBS Oil
1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Coriander
1/3 Cup Chickpea Flour
3 Medium Potatoes (400g)
4 TBS Oil for Spice Mixture
Oil for shallow frying
METHOD
Wash and dry your fresh coriander.Then chop the fresh coriander very finely. This is a very important step as if your coriander isn’t chopped fine enough, the spices will not stick to the aubergine.
Add all the spices to a bowl with 4 TBSP oil and mix it together by hand. Taste the paste and adjust seasonings as needed. Keep it aside.
Wash and slice the the aubergine into 1 cm thick slices. Keep the slices to gather so that they don’t discolour. Spread the spice paste on both side of the aubergine slices, but don’t spread too much, otherwise it will be too strong. Too little spice paste and the slices will be bland. So add just enough!
Get a large non-stick frying pan with a lid. Heat up the pan on a medium low flame and add some oil (about 2 TBSP).
Put the chickpea flour into a plate. Then dip the spiced aubergine slices into the chickpea flour, just to coat it lightly and evenly and place the slice in the frying pan. Repeat with as many slices that will fit in the pan.
Cover the frying with a lid and let the slices cook.
Check the slices after a few minutes and flip over to cook the other side. I use a fork to do this as it gives better control.
When the aubergine slices are a nice golden brown on both sides and the aubergine feels soft, remove them to a plate. You can use paper towels on the plate if you wish.
Continue cooking the remaining slices in the same way.
For the potatoes, peel, wash and slice the potatoes into 1/2cm thickness. Coat the slices with the spice paste completely. Don’t let the potatoes sit too long covered in the spice paste as the salt in the spice paste will cause the potatoes to release a lot of moisture.
Clean the frying pan with a paper towel. Be very careful as the pan will be hot after the aubergines are fried.
Add some oil to the frying pan.
Then lay a single layer of potatoes and fry them on low covered with a lid. We do not coat the potatoes with any chickpea flour.
Flip the potato slices once they become golden brown on one side. Then let them cook.
Remove to a plate once they are cooked. Continue frying the remaining slices of potato in the same way.
As this is a dry curry, it goes very well with my gujarati dal recipe and roti.
Note: These aubergine & potato slices can replace a burger also. ENJOY!
