Eggplant with Garlic Yogurt and Beef
Eggplant must be my favorite vegetable during the summer. I can find myself cooking eggplant dishes at least two times a week without even thinking about it. Hence I thought it is time to talk about reasons motivate me cooking eggplant so often, especially during the summer. Did you know eggplant was an ornamental plant for long periods, until new subfamilies grown to improve the sweet taste and loose the bitterness of it? Actually eggplant still is not appreciated well enough in Western cuisine, despite the fact it is respected highly in many European countries cuisines. Here are some good reasons to include eggplant in our routine summer recipe selection. · Calorie value is very low. · It contains A, C, B6, vitamins, Folate, Calcium, Phosphor, iron. · Regulates heartbeat. · Calms the person and lowers the blood pressure. · Has high percentage of fiber therefore regulates the digestive track. · Regulates liver enzymes and pancreas activity. · Lowers the cholesterol level in blood. · It has bone building manganese, magnesium and vitamin K. Kitchen secrets: *Make sure you are choosing firm and dark color, smooth and shiny skin and scar free eggplants when you buy them. *Eggplants perish very quickly, so it is better to be consumed without storing long time. * Skin of the eggplant can be eaten; however peeling in stripes is a common practice. * Also if eggplants soaked in salt-water they keep their color and saltwater reduce the bitter taste. Also soaking process prevents oil absorbance if eggplant deep-fried. There are many ways to consume eggplant. Broiling, roasting, pan and deep-frying, cooking as an olive oil based dish or steaming are some of the cooking methods. Since I do not use deep frying technics broiling, roasting or pan-frying are my favorite ways of using eggplant. Preparing time: 30 minutes. Cooking time: 10 minutes pan-frying the eggplants 10 minutes cooking the meat Serves 6 peoples. Approximately 350 Cal/serving Ingredients: 1 Lb. (453g) stewed beef 1000 Cal 100g protein 1 middle size onion (chopped) 45 Cal 1g protein 5 eggplants (peeled & cut) 407g 217 Cal 2.7g protein 2.7g fiber 2 big tomatoes (chopped) 64 Cal 3.2 g protein 2 cloves garlic 10 Cal 1g protein 1tsp. salt 1tsp turmeric 8 Cal 1tsp. black pepper 3Tbsp. olive oil (for eggplants) 360 Cal 1 Tbsp. olive oil (to cook the tomato sauce) 120 Cal Yogurt 1 cup 217 Cal 11g protein Making: Cut the meat smaller pieces. Stir-fry the meat a few minutes in the casserole. Transfer in to a pressure cooker and add ¼ Cup water. Simmer for seven minutes after pressure cooker whistles. Cook the chopped tomato in olive oil, add turmeric, salt. Set the tomato sauce aside and keep it warm. Sauté onion until it becomes translucent. Add sliced eggplants and pan fry the eggplants until they soften. Transfer into 8 X 9 inch Pyrex dish in one layer. Drain the meat from the juice, Transfer on to eggplants in one layer. Pour the tomato sauce over the meat. Mince the garlic and whip into the yogurt. Finally top the eggplant, meat and tomato layers with garlic yogurt sauce Garnish with minced mint. Serve immediately. Enjoy! 3/15/2014 Back to Beef Selections |
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