A tasty vegan recipe for those looking for a healthy and environment friendly dish

Recipe for four from chef Vivek Singh, of the Cinnamon Collection which consists of The Cinnamon Club, Cinnamon Kitchen City, Battersea & Oxford and Cinnamon Bazaar.

Ingredients:

• 4 firm Japanese or Bengali aubergines, cut into halves lengthways
• 1tbsp vegetable or corn oil
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp carom seeds
• ¼ tsp black onion seeds
• ¼ tsp fennel seeds

Tamarind smear

• 6 tbsp tamarind
• Pinch ground red chilli
• 2 tbsp jaggery or molasses
• ½ cup of water

For the spice crust

• 50g peanut, roasted or fried, cooled and coarsely crushed
• 1 tbsp white sesame seeds, lightly roasted
• 5g jaggery
• 1 tsp chopped garlic fried crisp
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp of dried fenugreek leaves, crushed
• 1 tsp chaat masala

Method:

1. Score and marinate the aubergine with oil, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, carom seeds, onion seeds, fennel seeds and salt and keep it aside for 3-4 minutes.
In the meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the spice crust to obtain a spicy nut mix. Check seasoning and keep aside.

2. Place the flat side of the aubergine on a hot grill or pan and sear for 2 minutes. Repeat the same on the other side by brushing it with butter or oil and cooking it for about 3 minutes so that it gets cooked thoroughly.
Alternatively you could do this on a very hot grill or barbeque too.

3. Place them on a plate with the flat side facing upwards. Apply a smear of tamarind chutney on the aubergines, sprinkle the spicy peanut crust on them and serve hot with green salad.