Roasted Chinese Eggplant with Mango Sambal

Name: Roasted Chinese Eggplant with Mango Sambal
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 large Chinese eggplants; ⅓ cup sunflower oil; 1 tsp New Harvest Turmeric; ¾ tsp salt (or to taste); 1 large shallot, sliced paper thin; ½ tsp Wild Mountain Cumin, toasted; 1 lime; 3 tsp Mango Sambal; Cilantro, for ganish

Image of Roasted Chinese Eggplant with Mango Sambal — Photo by Auria Abraham

Servings

Prep Time

10-15 minutes

Cook Time

35-40 minutes

"This recipe is a riff off my mum's warm eggplant salad, a favorite of mine when I was a kid. She used to deep fry the eggplant. I find roasting to be much more manageable. When frying, if you're not 100% confident when to remove the eggplant from the hot oil, it has a tendency to fall apart, leaving you with a pile of mushy eggplant. While still wonderfully tasty, it's less of a feast for the eyes.

I use Chinese eggplant here, but you can use Indian eggplant (brinjal) or regular eggplant — adjust roasting time as necessary."

Author:

Auria Abraham, our collaborator on the Mango Sambal

Ingredients

4 large Chinese eggplants
⅓ cup sunflower oil
1 tsp New Harvest Turmeric
¾ tsp salt (or to taste)
1 large shallot, sliced paper thin
½ tsp Wild Mountain Cumin, toasted
1 lime
3 tsp Mango Sambal
Cilantro, for ganish

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°.
Cut eggplant into round slices, about ½” thick and place in a large bowl.
Add oil, salt and turmeric, and mix well.
Arrange the slices, overlapping to make layers, on an oiled cast iron pan (or other oven-safe vessel). The dish will be served in the same pan so there’s no need to move the eggplant once cooked.
Roast for 35-40 minutes until cooked through, then set aside to cool.
When ready to serve, spoon mango sambal over the eggplant. Sprinkle over the cumin seeds and follow with the sliced shallots. Finally, squeeze lime over the shallots and garnish with cilantro.