Similar to the original curry baigan and aloo recipe I shared with you guys back in 2009 (time really flies), this one is very flexible and can work as a vegetarian meal or you can add left over stewed meats or pieces of salted cod and take it to another level. With the strong East Indian influence in our culinary traditions, you’ll find than many of the vegetables and ways of cooking is directly related to that connection. This is why you’ll see from time to time I mention names of things you won’t necessarily be familiar with, but I do try to clear things up on such occasions. Baigan is just another word for eggplant and aloo is basically potato. So don’t be surprised to see this dish refereed to as baigan and aloo in some Trinbago restaurants.

You’ll Need…
1 lb Japanese eggplant (or your fav)
2-3 cloves garlic sliced or crushed
1/4 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper (any hot pepper you like)
1/2 large onion diced
1 large potato cubed -chunky
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (or vegetable)
dash black pepper
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt

* As with the ingredients listed above, this is a vegetarian dish but I had some left over stewed chicken which I added the last 5 minutes of cooking to enhance the flavor a bit (this is optional). The stewed chicken recipe can be found at: Ultimate Trinbagonian Stew Chicken.

We’ll start by prepping all the ingredients. Peel and dice the onion, slice the pepper and crush or slice very thin the garlic. I decided to leave the skin on a couple of the eggplant for a bit of texture and to get some of that unique sweetness that Japanese eggplant seems to have. The other two I peeled. I then cut off the stems and cut each eggplant into three sections (length) to which I then cut strips, similar to if I were making fries. Finally I peeled, washed and cubed (in chunks) the potato. I used a Yukon Gold variety as I just love the sort of creamy texture of it. But you’re free to use any variety of potato you may have.

On a medium/high heat I heat the olive oil in a saucepan, then add the pieces of sliced (or crushed) garlic and allow that to cook for a couple minutes. You should start getting that wonderful garlic scent and the edges should start going golden. Now add the pieces of eggplant, then top with the onion, pepper, salt, black pepper and potato. Give it a good stir, then add the water. Bring it up to a boil, then lower te heat to a gentle simmer and allow to cook for about 25 minutes with the saucepan covered. Be sure to stir every 7 minutes or so.

You will find that it will start to melt away and turn into a sort of mushy texture… this is exactly what we’re looking for. After 25 minutes, the eggplant and potato should be tender and this is a good time to add any leftover meats you may want to add. If you plan on adding salted cod to this dish, I would add it after adding the garlic and allow it to cook for a couple minutes before adding everything else. If you’re keeping this dish strictly vegetarian, after 25 minutes if you have a lot of liquid left in the pan, turn up the heat and cook it off. You should not se any clear liquid in the finished dish.

If you did add pieces of left over stewed chicken as I did, turn up the heat after adding and cook until any liquid burns off.. usually about 3-5 minutes. Taste for salt as I’m sure your taste is  different than mine. Add accordingly.

This goes well with Sada Roti and should be enough for 4-5 people as a side. I was at my sisters restaurant a while back and was quite surprised at how many people came in especially for this… but without any meat and curried as I shared in the previous recipe.

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Here’s another one of the dishes my mom would prepare when we were kids which we refused to eat. Her way of getting us to eat it was to cook it without the curry and add leftover stew chicken, pork or beef near the end of the cooking process. Today when she visits I get her to make it several ways.. curry, without curry and I still love adding leftover stewed meats. My dad, the saltfish king that he is only likes this if there’s pieces of salted cod added near the end. According to him, this is the ONLY way this dish should be made.

This version is completely vegetarian, but feel free to add any leftover stewed (Caribbean style) meats you may have in your fridge. Also remember that if you’re looking for a truly unique twist to this, do as my dad would recommend and add some strips of dry salted fish. All you’ll have to do is soak the dried saltfish in hot water, then drain/rinse,  shred and add to the pot about 5 minutes at the end of cooking.

You’ll need…
1 eggplant (baigan) about 1-2 lbs -  peeled and cubed
1 small onion diced
2 cloves crushed
3 tablespoons water
3 small potatoes cubed
1 tablespoon madras curry powder
1 1/2 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon green seasoning (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash black pepper
1/4 hot pepper (habanero, scotch bonnet or chilli)

* I”ve also seen people prepare this dish without peeling the eggplant. Personally I find that the skin causes the finished dish to be over-powered with the flavour of the eggplant.

Start off by peeling and dicing the eggplant and potato into cubes (set aside in a bowl). Then peel and slice the onion, pepper and crush the garlic.

Pour the oil in a fairly deep saucepan and heat on medium to high heat. When the oil is hot add the curry powder and stir for about 3 minutes, then add the onion, garlic and hot pepper. Allow this to cook for another couple minutes, then add about 3 tablespoons of water and using a spoon try to scrape the pot so the bit of cooked curry will release from the bottom of the pan. When this dries back down (see image below) start adding the cubed eggplant, potato, salt and black pepper (add the green seasoning mix at this point as well – optional). Then reduce to the lowest setting on your stove with the pot covered. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on things. It will release some natural juices which should be enough for it to cook without burning, but if you notice that it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, it means that your heat may still be a bit too high… add a few tablespoons of water and place the pot on a smaller burner where the heat will be lower.

Allow this to cook for about 25 minutes or until the potato is fully cooked and the eggplant starts to dissolve and marry with the potato. Though not the prettiest looking dish, it’s packed with flavour and quite tasty when paired with roti, fry bake or any type of flat bread you may have.

I believe the word “baigan” is Indian in origin and it made it’s way to the Caribbean with the indentured workers that came to the Caribbean in the 1800′s. Do leave me your comments below.

Happy Cooking!