I don't fully go with the concept that particular ingredients are significantly more versatile than others. Okay, it seems you can do more with some, but what it really comes down to, most of the time, is how creative or experienced a particular cook is. I would say that potatoes are versatile. I can do lots of things with them, producing dishes with different flavours, textures and appearances, (have a look at my potato page) but I know people who just do chips or mash and don't know any other potato recipes. Is asparagus versatile? I don't know. I only cooked the fresh vegetable once and I was quite conservative about it - poached it gently and threw a bit of butter and black pepper on it. To date (December 2007) I haven't posted any asparagus recipes in my cookbook yet, but I'd like to do one or two. I've had a tin lying in the cupboard for the past year, so I'll maybe get round to doing something with that - asparagus curry or something.
I do know a bit about aubergines. The ingredients in this recipe are quite similar to a few other aubergine recipes I've done - see for example, aubergines a la Imran, ginger and lemon aubergines, or aubergines with potatoes - but the difference in the cooking method produces a completely different dish. So it's all in the technique. But does that mean aubergines are versatile or just that I know a lot about them?
Ingredients
A couple of aubergines (or one big one)
1 dried lemon, or half of a fresh one
2 large garlic cloves
1 small onion
A small bunch of green coriander
A third of a teaspoon each of garam masala, ground cumin, ground ginger and red chilli powder
Oil
Salt
As always, we wash and destalk the aubergine, but otherwise leave it intact until just before it is required. This is so that the cut pieces don't go brown in contact with the air. I don't know if going brown changes the taste or not; it probably does. The colour is a result of oxidation, but that only happens in the raw cut vegetable. As soon as it gets coated in hot oil it's sealed from the air. That's why I suggest cutting up the aubergine last, just before cooking.
Chop the onion and garlic very finely and set aside on a plate. Cut the tomato into quarters and take out the seeds, then chop the tomato finely, too and if you're using fresh lemon, slice it up thinly and cut the slices in half. If dried lemon, just crush it a bit with your fingers.
Heat some oil in a pan and throw in the onion and garlic and stir. Quickly slice the aubergine lengthwise into 1 cm thick slices, and then cut the slices into 1cm strips. Add to the pan with the onions and garlic and stir, keeping the temperature fairy high. Fry for about 3 minutes, stirring gently then add the spices, salt and lemon. Cook for another minute before stirring in the tomato, then another minute and it's ready.
This dish is good served with bread as a snack, or as part of a thali-type spread with small servings of various spicy dishes. Check out the link below for some recipe ideas for creating great thali combinations.