How to Cook Eggplant and Tomato Stew

Serves: 8

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients needed to make Eggplant and Tomato Stew:

• 3 lb Chinese eggplant
• 3 cups tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and diced
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1/3 cup sherry vinegar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 tbsp coriander seed, toasted and ground
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• Salt to taste

Cooking instructions for Eggplant and Tomato Stew:

• Rinse the eggplants, chop off their tops and slice each of them into two halves longitudinally.
• Slice each half into ¼’’ thick half-moon shaped pieces and set aside.
• Pour in 1/3 cup oil into a large skillet and heat it over moderately high heat.
• Throw in 1/3 cup of the eggplant slices into the pan and sauté for a while, stirring often, until they turn golden brown; set aside in a bowl.
• Use 1/3 cup oil each time for frying a batch of eggplant slices until all of them turns golden brown; transfer them into the above plate and set aside.
• Toss the chopped red bell pepper as well as onion into the skillet and sauté them for 5 minutes over moderate heat, stirring from time to time, until they soften and the onion caramelizes.
• Skim off the excess oil and add a splash of sherry vinegar into the skillet.
• Heat the vinegar until it is cooked off and empty the cups of diced tomatoes into the pan.
• Sauté the tomatoes over slow flame, stirring often, until it softens enough to appear mushy and forms a thick sauce.
• Sprinkle a dash each of ground coriander as well as cumin and dump the fried eggplants back into the pan.
• Stir them all together, along with a dash of seasonings and cook over slow flame for 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens further and coats the veggies properly.
• Fold in the chopped cilantro until well combined and pour it into a serving bowl.
• Serve hot alongside steamed rice.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons