©Ashy Macbean 2003.
I first made this dish in late autumn with what turned out to be the last good aubergines of the season. I remember it was unusually cold. There was even a little snow and farmers and gardeners were panicking about getting their harvests in before everything froze. There was no warning of the cold weather, which reminds me of a story.
There was to be a big holiday parade and the president summoned the chief of the weather bureau to ask him what to expect on the day. 'We predict very good weather, Sir.' the chief said. 'There's a cold front and an area of settled high pressure on the way. It should be dry and sunny.' On the day of the parade, it poured with rain and everything was ruined, as no precautions had been taken against bad weather.The president summoned the head of the weather bureau again and asked him to explain. 'Well, you see, Sir.' he began. 'Even with all our sophisticated instruments and cutting edge technology, the weather is such a thing that we can only ever be forty percent accurate in our predictions.' The president thought about this for a moment, then replied, 'You know, if you checked your instruments, did your calculations and made your predictions, then told everybody the complete opposite, you would be sixty percent accurate, wouldn't you?'
I used red lentil dhal (see tarka dhal)
but there's no reason you couldn't use another type. This dish is thick and
filling and the spices give it a warming effect. 'Garam masala' means 'hot mixture'
in Hindi but it doesn't make the dish 'hot' in a spicy sense (the chilli will
though, if you use it). The spices in the blend are some of those which are
used in Ayurvedic medicine to create heat in the body and promote circulation.
This is a good dish for cold days, but you needn't wait till then to try it.
Ingredients
1 or 2 aubergines
A bowl of cooked dhal
Oil
Salt
A third of a teaspoon of garam masala
A pinch or two of red chilli powder
Chop the aubergines into four or five centimetre pieces and fry in oil for five minutes. Fry on a fairly high heat to brown the aubergines a little. Add the spices and salt two halfway through the frying process.
Add the dhal to the pan and thin with a little water. When the
dhal starts bubbling, turn the heat down and cover the pan. Simmer for ten minutes.