Meltingly tender circles of fried aubergine make an excellent nibble, and a spicy accompaniment to any meal. The recipe below gives the amount for one small Canalside aubergine, but is easily scaled up. I’ve never had any left over, but Madhur Jaffrey says they’re good warmed up the next day.
Fried Aubergine Slices
Ingredients
1 Canalside aubergine
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or ½ a Canalside dried chile (seeds removed if you prefer), chopped fine
Freshly-ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
½ lemon wedge, to serve
Preparation
Cut the aubergine into slices about 1cm thick.
Mix together the salt, turmeric, cayenne or chile and black pepper in bowl.
Toss the aubergine with the mixed spices.
Heat about ½cm oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When it’s hot put in as many aubergine slices as will fit comfortably in a single layer. Don’t crowd the pan or they won’t fry properly. Fry until reddish-brown on the bottom. Flip and fry the other side.
Remove them as they are done, onto some kitchen paper or a cloth, and fry the remainder. Add more oil if necessary.
Serve with a squeeze of lemon.
Recipe adapted from Madhur Jaffrey, Indian Cooking (2002).