Bengalees love for mustard for some obvious reasons and a Bengali Delicacy : Sorshe Begun (Eggplants in mustard & yogurt Gravy)

Bengalees have a special love for mustard. It is one of the most preferred spice in Bengali cooking, not only Mustard oil is the preferred and main cooking oil there, but seeds and paste are also appear in quite a few of our delicacies. If you have followed my earlier posts, You'll see I have posted many veg. dishes which are cooked with this paste. Almost all the vegetables are cooked with this paste, fish and even eggs are also cooked with this paste. Of Course, there is some reason for this love of Mustard, as Mustard is considered as "One of the World's healthiest spices". 

And this is not totally blind love, it is because of the numerous health beneficial properties mustard seed and oil has. 

Mustard seed :
Research shows that mustard seeds have Phytonutrient Compounds that is protective against Gastrointestinal Cancer. Mustard seeds emerged from our food ranking system as a very good source of Selenium, a nutrient which has been shown to help reduce the severity of asthma, decrease some of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, and help prevent cancer. They also qualified as a good source of magnesium. Like selenium, Magnesium has been shown to help reduce the severity of asthma, to lower high blood pressure, to restore normal sleep patterns in women having difficulty with the symptoms of menopause, to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks, and to prevent heart attack in patients suffering from atherosclerosis or diabetic heart disease.
Mustard seeds also qualified as a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids as well as a good source of iron, calcium, zinc, manganese, magnesium, protein, niacin and dietary fiber. (Information source : WHF foods)

 
Mustard Oil :
Mustard oil has the lowest amount of saturated fat(only 1%) and quite a good amount of monounsaturated fat(76%), the most desirable fat in our diet because it helps to decrease the LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood and helps to increase the HDL (good) cholesterol. Good sources of monounsaturated fat are macadamia nut oil, olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, and most nuts. Visit this page for more information on which oil is good for you.

My today's recipe is one of the delicacy of Bengali Cuisine," Sorshe begun" , where baby soft brinjals/aubergines are fried and doused with freshly ground mustard and yoghurt/curd paste and tempered with Panch phoron(five spice mix).

Here goes the recipe for you all...........

 

Ingredients :

Long baby brinjal/aubergine : 7-8 pieces
Yoghurt/curd/dahi : 3/4 cup
Ginger : 1/2 " piece
Garlic : 3-4 cloves
Green chilli : 2-3(slit lengthwise)
Mustard seed : 1and 1/2 tblsp.
Gram Flour/besan : 1 tblsp. 
Turmeric Powder : 2 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 2 tsp. (as per taste)
Panch Phoron : 1 tsp.(mixture of mustard, fennel, white cumin, black cumin/kalonji and fenugreek/methi seed-mix in equal measure)
Mustard oil : 3-4 tblsp.(prefferably mustard oil, can use any other oil)
Sugar : 2 tsp.

Salt to taste

Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

Method :

Preperation : 

1.     1) Trim the end of the stalks and cut brinjals lengthwise into 4. (see the picture below)

  
      Rub about 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. turmeric into inside of the brinjals and fry them in medium hot oil until soft and almost cooked. Remove on to kitchen tissue.  2) Preparing the spice mix : (a) Soak the mustard seed in 2 tblsp. hot water for 10 minutes, then whiz to a smooth paste in a blender. Remove and set aside. (b) Put remaining turmeric, red chilli powder, ginger and garlic with little water in a blender and make a smooth paste of it. Remove and keep aside. (c) Using a whisk, mix together yoghurt, gram flour, sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt. 

      Cooking :

• Heat oil in a pan, add slit green chillies and panch phoron. When spices start to crackle, add ginger-garlic(2nd preperation) paste and stir fry for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to sim, and add the yoghurt mix. (because if yoghurt boils, it tends to split)
• Gently mix the spices and cook for 1-2 minutes, check the sugar-salt balance. Then mix the mustard paste, mix thoroughly with yoghurt, cook for 2 minutes. Then carefully place the fried brinjals in the sauce. 
• Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves over it, cover the pan and simmer for 3-4 minutes. As brinjals are already cooked, this step is just to incorporate brinjals with sauce. 

Spinkle few more coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice.....enjoy