Eggplant (or brinjal in India, and “badanekai” in Kannada), is a favorite vegetable in my house. The only two varieties which I was most familiar with was the Eeranagere badanekai (Eeranagere is a town near Mysore) and Matti guLLa (Matti is a town near Udupi). If we go to an Asian market we see so many varieties of eggplant. I didn’t even know their existence until I came to the US. I have now been introduced to quite a few different cuisines where eggplant is the main vegetable. Today I tried my dish with Japanese eggplant and it turned out to be tasty!

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil-2 Tbsp

Japanese eggplant- 2 cups, diced

Red onion- 1 medium, thinly sliced

Tomatoes-2 medium, chopped

Brown sugar- 3 Tsp

Soy sauce-2 Tsp

Lime juice-2 Tsp

Chilli-garlic sauce- 1½ Tsp

Bean sprouts- 1½ cup

Bamboo shoots- 1 small can, sliced

Fresh mint- 3 Tsp chopped

Preparation:

Heat oil in a Wok or large pan. Sauté onions for 2 minutes, add in eggplant, stir-fry for 10 minutes over high heat or until eggplant is brown.

Stir in tomatoes, brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice and chilli garlic sauce. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add bean sprouts and bamboo shoots, stir fry for a few more minutes.

Garnish with mint and serve with hot rice (preferably sticky rice).