eggplant chaat recipe | Indian brinjal chaat | (2024)

FAQs

What is the white and purple eggplant? ›

The graffiti eggplant (also called zebra or Sicilian eggplant), has a similar coloring to fairy tale eggplants, with its mottled purple and white striping. Because their seeds are small and their skin is thin, graffitis are great for eating whole or pureeing. Or use them anywhere you would globe eggplants.

Indian Eggplant

“Baby” comes from the fact that Indian eggplants look exactly like tiny globe eggplants. Fully grown, Indian eggplants are only about two inches long, roughly the size and shape of a large egg, making them great for quickly cooking whole.

Eggplants can be grilled, steamed, braised, stir-fried, deep-fried and roasted. For a smoky flavour, turn whole eggplants over an open flame on the barbecue or stovetop until the skin is charred, then scoop out the flesh. Choose eggplants with smooth and shiny skin that is even across the surface.

Taste: in terms of taste, white eggplants are less bitter, creamier and denser. Their flavor is a bit more delicate and these differences are quite subtle. White eggplant is similar enough in taste to purple that they can be interchanged in any recipe.

Some folks think you must peel an eggplant before cooking it – however, it's actually not necessary. The skin is edible and packed with vitamins. It also adds beautiful color to dishes and helps to keep the shape of your slices after cooking. It's important to pick medium-sized, fresh eggplants.

Back in the 1700s, the Europeans observed these white varieties of brinjals which resembled eggs of goose/chicken. Thus, they started calling brinjal with the name 'eggplant'. Eventually this name became popular in the English language and became a synonym of brinjal.

Chinese eggplant are long and thin, and dark lavender in color. These are great in stir fries, braises, and pickles. Filipino eggplant are long and thin, and dark green in color with flushes of light purple. These are often braised, stewed, and fried.

One of the most popular was the long, thin, purple eggplant from Taiwan known as Ping Tung. This is an exceptional eggplant with sweet, pleasant tasting flesh. The plants are incredibly prolific and produce throughout the entire season.

One of the secrets to cooking tender-but-never-mushy eggplant is salt. First, Stilo cuts her eggplant into the desired shape (rounds, cubes, planks, etc.), and then sprinkles the eggplant evenly with a generous amount of salt.

First recorded in 1763, the word "eggplant" was originally applied to white cultivars, which look very much like hen's eggs (see image). Similar names are widespread in other languages, such as the Icelandic term eggaldin or the Welsh planhigyn ŵy.

Do you cook white eggplant same as purple? ›

Expert cooks also report that white eggplants are best suited to baking, steaming or frying because they have tough skins and can hold up better against the extreme temperatures. You can use the white eggplants in any recipe suited for purple eggplants, including salads, soups, lasagna, stir fry and many more others.

Can You Eat the Easter Eggplants? You can, but you probably don't want to. The ornamental fruit doesn't taste much like the eggplant you're used to cooking with. Stick to traditional globe eggplants when it comes to preparing eggplant recipes.

You also won't find eggplant's stereotypical bitterness here thanks to their smaller seeds, and the skin is thinner than the large purple varieties. If you're following a recipe that calls for peeling the skin or salting the flesh to pull out the bitterness, you can go ahead and skip those steps.

Culinary White eggplants belong to Solanum melongena, and there are several well-known varieties, including Casper, Easter Egg, Cloud Nine, Ghostbuster, White Beauty, Albino, Paloma, Tango, Blanch Ronde a Oeuf, Blanche Longue, Dourga, Bride White, Clara, Gretel, Japanese White, Snowy, Thai White Ribbed, and White Comet ...