I would say this is one of my favourites from dinner menu. Steamy Eggplant casserole would be a complete meal by itself with a drink of your choice. Use of the Parmesan cheese adds the Italian flavour to the dish. Parmesan cheese is also called King of Cheeses which is packed with protein and excellent source of calcium.
Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- 12 tomatoes
- Salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- Oil to fry
- 3 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp red chilli flakes
- 1 tsp green chilli paste
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 2 cups of bread crumbs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour(Maida)
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 2 medium onions(Optional)
- 2 tsp minced garlic(Optional)
- 2 cups of mozzarella cheese thin slices
- 2 cups of parmesan cheese shreds or crumbles
Preparation:
- Take eggplant and cut thin circles.
- Arrange them on a flat baking tray or a platter and sprinkle it with salt.
- Let it stand for an hour.
- With a vegetable peeler, try to peel off skin of tomatoes.
- Cut the tomatoes into small pieces.
- In a Pan, heat oil until you see light smoke.
- Add onions & Chillies and saute it until onions are transparent in colour.
- Now add tomatoes, garlic, sugar and salt.
- Stir and cover the pan for at least 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Once the tomatoes are soft and juicy, turn off the heat.
- Blend it to make coarse puree.
- In a frying pan, heat the oil for eggplants to fry.
- In a bowl, take milk and mix corn starch to thicken the milk.
- Take bread crumbs and all purpose flour into two separate bowls.
- Now dip each rounds into flour, milk and follow with dipping into bread crumbs.
- Repeat the step one more time.
- Fry the coated rounds until they are golden and crisps.
- Now in a casserole, add 1/3rd of the tomato puree.
- layer in eggplant rounds and top with sliced cheese to cover the surface
- Repeat the steps for at least 3 layers.
- Bake the casserole until the cheese melts.
- Serve it hot.
Tips:
- The purpose of sprinkling salt on eggplant and let it stand is to cut the bitterness of the eggplant. You can skip the step only if you are in hurry.
- Choice of cheese can be yours you can use just mozzarella if you want.
- Healthier version: Lot of people wants to avoid deep frying eggplant. In that case, you can brush eggplant slices lightly with olive oil and bake them until tender. Use single layer of eggplant and top it with tomato puree and sprinkle some cheese. Bake another 3-4 minutes and serve with either side of Ravioli or a drink.
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