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!

So what do you do with the left over stew chicken from the day before? Our main meal of the week in Trinidad and Tobago is usually “Sunday lunch”. I recall my mom going all out just about every Sunday, which usually included her famous stew chicken. As we were kids and didn’t eat much, there was usually left over chicken… that slowly  changed as we grew older and our appetite increased. Back then, Monday dinners usually meant curry potato with the added chicken for extra flavor, paired with either rice or roti.

That tradition now continues in our household, but it’s not a Monday thing…

You’ll need…

2 large potatos

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (any that can withstand high heat)

1 medium onion sliced

2 cloves of garlic sliced

1/4 of a hot pepper – habanero (only add if you like extra spicy)

leftover stew chicken (leave out chicken if you want it vegetarian)

2 cups water

4 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoon of your favorite curry powder.

Peel and dice the potato into 1-2 inch pieces, then wash and keep handy. Prepare the garlic and onion by peeling and slicing into thin pieces. You may also crush the garlic if you wish, but I leave in slices so our girls can see them when the dish is complete. This way they can remove if they wish when eating.

I now add the curry powder to a bowl with the sliced onions and garlic.

In a heavy pan I place the oil over medium to high heat. Just before it starts to smoke, I add the curry, onion and garlic mixture and let cook for about 2 minutes. In the same small bowl that the curry mixture was in, I add the 4 tablespoons of water and rinse (get any curry that was left back). Now pour that water into the pot with the cooked curry, onions and garlic. Let that cook until the water evaporates and you now have a bit of a paste.

Our next step is to add the diced potato and move around, so everything gets coated. This can take a couple minutes.

Add the salt, pepper, habanero and remaining water. The goal is to try and have enough water to cover the potato so it will cook evenly.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Allow this to cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the potato is tender and starts to melt away to form a nice thick sauce. Here is where the dish goes from being vegetarian… Add the pieces of leftover chicken and let simmer for about 5 minutes. If you’re going with the vegetarian version, allow to thicken and serve at this point.

The goal is to allow the runny sauce to thicken up, so you may have to crush the potato a bit if necessary by pressing down on them with the back of your cooking spoon. Please taste for salt and add if necessary. I’m not a heavy salt eater, so you may find that some of my dishes do require more salt – basically to your taste!

Tip. If you live in a country where your home is closed up for the winter months and you’re worried about the curry smell lingering around, burn a candle (scented is great) during and after you’re done cooking. If the smell is really strong (depends on the curry powder you use), you add either a vanilla bean or piece of cinnamon to a couple cups of water and boil for a bit. The fragrance will envelop your home, but you may feel like having apple pie.

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