This method puts an end to eggplants soaking up too much oil, while also giving us a much lighter texture. What’s more, we use very little oil and don’t add any eggs. Come on, let’s make this delicious cornmeal fried eggplant together.
### **Ingredient List**
* 5 medium-sized eggplants (if possible, prefer smaller ones)
* 1 bowl of cornmeal (approx. 1 cup)
* Vegetable oil (for frying, approx. 4-5 tablespoons)
* Salt
* **For Serving (Optional):**
* Garlic yogurt
* Tomato sauce
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### **Written Recipe (Cornmeal Fried Eggplant)**
1. Peel the eggplants in a striped pattern (i.e., in strips).
2. Slice the eggplants without cutting all the way through the base. (You can split them in half down the middle as shown in the video).
3. Place the sliced eggplants in salted water to remove their bitterness, cover them with a plate, and let them sit for 15-20 minutes.
4. Transfer the eggplants to a colander and rinse them.
5. Boil water in a pot, add a slightly rounded tablespoon of salt, and stir.
6. Add the eggplants to the boiling salted water and place a heat-resistant plate on top to ensure they cook evenly.
7. Once it returns to a boil, parboil the eggplants for only 5 minutes, without letting them get too soft.
8. Transfer the parboiled eggplants to a colander and run them under cold water.
9. Gently squeeze the eggplants with your hands to remove excess water without damaging their shape, and place them on a plate.
10. Spread the cornmeal on a wide plate, add a small amount of salt, and mix.
11. Coat the parboiled and squeezed eggplants thoroughly in the cornmeal mixture.
12. Shake off any excess cornmeal and then place the eggplants on a separate plate.
13. Add 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a pan and heat it up.
14. Place the eggplants in the pan and fry them nicely over medium-low heat.
15. Once one side is golden, flip the eggplants using a fish pan lid or carefully turn them over.
16. For the other side to fry, add about 2 more tablespoons of oil to the pan and wait for them to brown.
17. Transfer the fried eggplants to a serving plate once they are golden brown and crispy.
18. Serve hot, either plain, or with garlic yogurt or tomato sauce. Enjoy your meal!
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### **Tips & Tricks**
* You can prefer smaller eggplants for a more aesthetic and beautiful appearance.
* Soaking the eggplants in salted water removes their bitterness and makes them more flavorful.
* Do not extend the parboiling time too much; if they become too soft, their shape may be lost and coating them in cornmeal might become difficult.
* Shaking off the excess cornmeal after coating prevents the meal from burning in the pan during frying.
* Frying over medium-low heat ensures the eggplants cook through on the inside and become crispy on the outside.
* You can make a lighter fry by using less oil. Add the oil in a controlled manner during frying.
#cornmealeggplant #friedeggplant #lightmeal #elifskitchen #deliciousrecipes
Hello and welcome to Ell’s Kitchen. Today I want to share a recipe for very light, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, cornmeal crusted fried eggplant. To stay updated on my new recipes, don’t forget to subscribe to my channel and turn on notifications by pressing the bell icon. I have five medium-sized eggplants. If you use smaller eggplants, the shape and appearance will be much nicer. I’m peeling the eggplants in stripes. Then, as you can see in the video, I’m slicing them depending on the thickness of the eggplant. So, I’m not cutting them all the way through. As you can see, I’ve divided them in half down the middle, but I didn’t cut them completely. I’m putting them into a bowl of salted water. I cover them with a plate and wait for about 15 to 20 minutes for them to release their bitterness. Then I took them to a colander and washed the eggplants. I’m boiling some water in a pot. I added a level tablespoon of salt and stirred it. I’m adding the eggplants to it. I’m covering them with a heatresistant plate so that the eggplants stay submerged in the water and cook evenly, softening up. After it starts boiling, I’m only blanching them for about 5 minutes. I won’t soften them too much, just until they are slightly tender. Then I took them into a colander and rinsed them with cold water gently. As you can see, I’m squeezing them with my hand without distorting their shape. I’m placing them on a plate. I took about a bowl full of cornmeal into a shallow plate. I add a small amount of salt and mix it. I’m coating my blanched eggplants in cornmeal, as you can see, ensuring they are coated all over. Then I shake off the excess cornmeal and place them on a plate. I’m preparing all of them this way. I added about 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan and heated it. I’m placing the eggplants in it. Since I didn’t add much oil, it’s very light this way. I’m also not using eggs. This way it turns out to be a light and delicious fry. I placed the eggplants. I’m frying them over medium low heat. I easily flip them with the lid of a fish pan. As you can see, you can flip them this way, too. I flipped them. I added about two more tablespoons of oil to the pan. I’m adding the flipped eggplants back onto it. I’m waiting for these sides to also brown over medium low heat. Look, they’ve browned very nicely. I’m putting them on a serving plate. I want to serve them hot. They’re much better when hot. If you wish, you can consume them plain like this. If you wish, you can consume them by adding tomato sauce on top. I had prepared winter sauce before. The winter sauce, the video of which is also on my channel. I’m putting about a tablespoon of it on top. I’m putting garlic yogurt on the other two eggplants. You can serve them in both ways. You can do it however you like it. The fried eggplant is ready for serving. I also recommend you try it. Good luck to those who will try it. Enjoy your meal.
Dining and Cooking