Hepworth Farms’ “Local Organic Baby Eggplant Mix” looks like the very picture of Autumn

As I’ve mentioned before, life in New York City often means having groceries delivered, and I rely on FreshDirect’s home delivery service every two weeks. With a wide range of standard items and organic food and farm-to-table produce from local New York state farms, I’m rarely disappointed. This week, I added mixed heirloom tomatoes and mixed baby eggplant to my shopping cart, both from Hepworth Farms, which apparently was established in 1818 and is a seventh-generation family farm in the Hudson Valley, less than 100 miles from New York City. I’m told their farm yields more than 400 varieties of organic vegetables, specializing in tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, zucchini, cucumbers and greens.

I order my groceries from FreshDirect every couple of weeks, which among regular grocery items offers organic food and produce from local farms in the Hudson Valley like Hepworth Farms (Photo Source: Hepworthfarms.com)

I really love eggplant, but didn’t as a child. Something about the taste and texture can be off-putting to many people, but if prepared well, eggplant can be fantastic. I personally love Italian and Greek preparations like a caponata richly stewed with celery, tomatoes and capers, or a homemade babganoush that is smoky and creamy. When it comes to Indian dishes, my all-time favorites are my own Smoky Mashed Eggplant with Spices (Baingan Burtha) and Oven-roasted Eggplant Raita recipes, which will convert even the most stubborn eggplant skeptic.

While searching for baby eggplant recipes, I stumbled across the food blog Live to Eat, whose author is also South Indian. Her photo of Spicy Baby Eggplants grabbed my attention right away. (Photo Source: Live to Eat)

One hallmark Indian recipe is to stuff baby eggplants with spices, but I surfed the web for something more simple. I found a blog called Live to Eat and liked the look of her photo and simple method, slicing the baby eggplants lengthwise and doing a quick dry roast of spices like coriander, turmeric, and garam masala with onions, garlic, and ginger. It took less than 30 minutes to make, and the result is a smoky, soft but crunchy pan-roasted eggplant dish that has earthiness and kick from turmeric and red chilli pepper. Because of the simplicity of this dish however, it may not be the ideal eggplant dish to serve someone who is vehemently anti-eggplant — in that case, I refer you to my recipes mentioned above. Sean and I liked it though, especially paired with a quick chick peas curry and steamed basmati rice with a touch of sea salt and turmeric. With a drizzle of yogurt raita and tamarind chutney, that was our Monday night dinner!

Here’s my slightly adapted version. As you will notice, once pan-roasted with spices and aromatics in a skillet, multi-colored baby eggplants of purple and white are made golden thanks to the addition of ground turmeric.

Live to Eat’s Spicy Baby Eggplants (slightly adapted)

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb baby eggplants, sliced into 8 pieces lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced to medium-sized pieces
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2-inch piece ginger root, peeled and finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• A few kari patha (curry) leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a sauté pan with mustard seeds and cover tightly with a matching lid. You will hear the mustard seeds begin to pop (sounds like tiny popcorn). As soon as the popping stops, add the red onions and kari patha (curry leaves) and sauté until the onion is softened (about 5 minutes).
2. Add ginger, garlic, red chilli flakes, coriander, and turmeric powders and continue to sauté on low heat for about 5 minutes until the mixture is golden brown and cooked through, but doesn’t burn.
3. Now add the eggplant, salt and garam masala and stir carefully to coat the eggplant with the masala. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and mix well. Close the lid and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.
4. Remove the lid and keep cooking on low heat, stirring occasionally until eggplant is soft but still a bit crunchy. Serve immediately with steamed basmati rice.