You need medium-sized egglants for this. I use the purple kind, 5 of them, each weighing about 5 ounces, and then cut them, unskinned, into 2” × 1” chunks, each chunk with skin on at least one side. Normally, eggplant chunks require frying first to give them their unctuous, satiny texture, after which they may be folded into a variety of sauces—here it is a tomato sauce. But I have found a less oily way around that; I broil them instead. You serve this dish hot with a lamb or chicken curry or cold, as a salad, with cold meats, Indian (such as Tandoori-Style Chicken with Mint) or Western.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4¿6

　　1 1/2–1 3/4 pounds medium-sized eggplants, cut into chunks as suggested above

　　Salt

　　5 tablespoons olive, canola, or peanut oil

　　1 teaspoon whole black or yellow mustard seeds

　　1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

　　1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

　　1/2 teaspoon whole nigella seeds (if available)

　　1 dried hot red chili

　　2 cloves garlic, chopped

　　2 cups (12 ounces) peeled and chopped tomatoes, or grated tomatoes (page 289)

　　1/4 teaspoon sugar

　　

Step 1

Turn on the broiler, arranging a shelf so it is 5–6 inches from the source of the heat. Spread the eggplant chunks in a baking tray. Sprinkle them with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Toss and put under the broiler. Broil for about 15 minutes, tossing now and then, until all sides are lightly browned.

　　

Step 2

Pour the remaining 3 tablespoons oil into a large sauté pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, nigella, and chili. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, a matter of seconds, toss in the garlic. Stir a few times, until the garlic is golden, and then quickly put in the tomatoes, eggplants, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the sugar. Mix and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer gently about 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the eggplants are tender and smothered in the sauce.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.