My husband is Afghan and we make a lot of the same type of food.
Most of the stews start out the same and just the ingredients change.
Read this and see if it might turn out similar to what you like
Recipe:
Soak, Cook and Puree:
- Soak 2 cups of chickpeas in water, overnight.
- At morning, pressure-cook chickpeas in enough water until the chickpeas are tender, but not mushy.
- Drain Water. Separate half cup of chickpeas and puree them into smooth paste. Keep the remaining aside.
Cut, Chop and Prepare Masala:
- Wash and cut big eggplant into bite sized cubes.
- Chop 1 onion and 2 tomatoes into small pieces.
- Make a smooth paste of 2 garlic, few springs of fresh cilantro and small piece of ginger.(GGC Paste)
- Prepare one tablespoon of cloves-cinnamon-cumin-coriander seed powder. (CCCC Powder)
Saute, Stir-in and Cook:
- Heat one teaspoon of peanut oil in a big pan. Do the popu or tadka.
- Add and saute onion, tomatoes, GGC paste, CCCC powder and eggplant cubes, in that order.
- Add the pureed chickpea paste and pressure-cooked chickpeas.
- Stir in 2 cups of water, one teaspoon of each - salt, red chilli powder, amchur powder and turmeric.
- Close the lid and cook on medium heat for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring in-between.
- Serve warm with chapatis or with rice.
A note on Eggplant. it has a tendency to be bitter. once i slice it I sprinkle it with salt and let it sit an hour or so. the salt will draw out all the bitter flavors. i just rinse with water and then it is ready to use. becareful though it may retain a little of the salt so you may not have to use much later
Good luck! |