Bygan Chunkayed in Choka!

 
 

Bygan is the hindi word for eggplant and this is a really short relatively easy dish that is staple in an indian household in Trinidad. Other vegetables can be made into a "choka" such as tomatoes and potato (alloo).

 

What's a bit strange about this is that you actually cook the spices and garlic in oil till it gets really black in a process called "chunkaying". This identical process is used to flavor dhal. Somehow getting the garlic and geera to this blackened stage makes bygan taste really good.

 

When made right and eaten hot, this is really delicious eaten with some sada roti with butter and if you have on hand some kuchela or anchar.

 

Cuisine:        Trini-Indian

Type:             Vegetable

Time:             30 mins
Serves:         4 

Skill:              Easy

Suitable:        Vegetarian, vegan

 

 

Ingredients:

 
 4                eggplants whole
½                onion sliced
1tb              garlic minced/chopped

¾ tsp          whole geera (cumin)

¾ tsp          salt

¼ tsp          pepper minced (optional)

2-3tb           oil

 

 

Procedure:

1. Roast eggplant whole on an open flame on your stove until the outside is a bit charred and the inside is soft.
2. Peel off skin of eggplant and scoop out flesh and put into a bowl.
3. Add sliced onions and half of garlic and mix.
4. Get a sufficiently large pot spoon that can hold all the oil. Have the geera and the garlic ready. Put the pot spoon with the oil over an open flame on your stove top and wait till oil is hot.
5. Add the reserved garlic and geera. Cook until at least most of it gets black.
6. Pour this hot mixture over the eggplant in bowl being careful since this is hot oil.
7. Add salt, pepper and mix.