Batter Fried Eggplant

IngridH's Note:

From The Africa Cookbook, this is attributed to South Africa. Wherever it comes from, this is a yummy way to eat your vegetables!

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 eggplants, large
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (ground chiles, not the mix you use to make chili)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Wash the eggplants and cut into 1 inch slices. Place the slices on a rack or in a colander, sprinkle with the salt, and let sit for 15 minutes. This will release Mix remaining ingredients into a batter.
2. When the oil is hot, dip a few pieces of the eggplant in the batter until well coated. Carefully place into the hot oil, and fry for 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
3. Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain any excess oil.
4. Serve immediately.

Reviews

[Ck2plz]

I halved this but I would keep the spices the same. There were no directions for using the water. I wet the eggplant followed with dipping it in the batter. I would bake it next time and then put under the broiler to toast it. ZWT7 for the Count Dracula and His Hot Bites.

[Annacia]

This was made exactly as directed. Perhaps this is totally correct and the way batter is always made in Africa but it was almost water thin and barely coated the eggplant. Loved the seasonings added to the mix and would make this again but with less water. After doing all of the eggplant there was plenty left to batter and fry 4 big chicken breasts (that I had planned to grill originally) with even more to spare. The recipe is easy and a fingertip taste of the flour mix before adding the water was very good. Using 1/2 to 23 of the water amount would make this killer. Made for ZWT7.