A collection of delicious air fryer eggplant Indian recipes! This one is air fryer baba ganoush recipe!
You are always looking to include antioxidants in your healthy diet. But little do you know that an eggplant packs a powerful antioxidant punch. did you know this fact? If so, post in comments. If you are on a healthy mission, then your diet is incomplete without an eggplant. A rich source of Vitamin K, an eggplant can save you from several diseases and protect you against oxidation or free radical damage.
Besides, it is low in calories and has a high moisture content, which makes it a potent weapon against various diseases, such as cancer. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory and has anti-asthmatic properties too. You should make eggplant an integral part of your diet if you suffer from frequent burns, gastritis, arthritis, warts, and inflammatory infections.
Besides, brinjal or aubergine, or egglant is packed with minerals, including copper, potassium, magnesium, manganese, which are crucial for healthy bones.
An eggplant benefits those suffering from high blood pressure, bronchitis, asthma, dysentery, osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease.
Numerous studies show that eggplant extracts are known to have excellent healing properties on different disorders.
But be forewarned that an eggplant can be a menstruation stimulator, so you might want to avoid it during pregnancy or lactation. Please consult with your doctor before consuming anything during these important phases in your life.
Some people might develop an eggplant allergy.
Now let's come to eggplant recipes in airfryer
Well, there are different ways to consume an eggplant, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. being a Punjabi, I have grown up enjoying baingan ka bharta made by my mom the traditional way of roasting brinjal on high heat until the skin turned into charcoal and the body simmered to deliver deliciousness to our plates. Tempering with onion, tomato, garlic, and ginger used to turn the bland eggplant into a royal dish.
Similarly, when I came to Odisha, I found numerous Odia recipes with eggplant or baingan. You have baingan chakuta or bharta with boiled eggplant, baigan bhaja, dahi baigan, baingan pakoda, santula, dalma, sada tarkari, and what not. The list is really very very long of Odia recipes using eggplant.
But today, I bring to you another treat from the Mediterranean. It is a baked version of the traditionally deep-fried Shakshuka. The star of the show is eggplant, closely followed by the tomato-garlic sauce, and the chillis are perfect for the kick. The vegan recipe is a sumptuous side dish with rice. You may even use it as a filling and enjoy Shakshuka as a snack.
So let's get right into the recipe to make a delicious healthy eggplant dip in air fryer, popular by the name baba ganoush.
Ingredients
2 eggplants
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp of tahini paste (https://youtu.be/r5uDxH-FQPox)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
4-5 roasted garlic cloves
1/4 tsp salt
2-3 mint leaves
1/2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp each of red chili powder, mint powder
You need to roast eggplants. I have taken 2 cherry eggplants. You may take any variety. I chose to do so in my airfryer. But you can do the traditional way of roasting an eggplant on direct flame. To roast the eggplant, you need to make insertions into it with a fork from all sides. This step is important that will ensure that the heat goes inside and roasts the veggie properly. In addition, it will protect the eggplant from turning into a bomb. You never know when it becomes a bomb if you do not prick holes into it to release moisture and gases upon heating. I hope you have got my point.
Then roast in an airfryer or oven at 180 deg for 30-40 minutes. Now timing might vary from one machine to another - from an airfryer to oven and from one airfryer to another. So keep an eye on your roasting eggplant after 20 minutes. If it does not look shrunk or roasted from the outside, bake it further until done.
Once it has shrunk and got that roasted effect, it's time to peel the eggplant meat. Correct, you will need to scrape the white part inside, which has roasted beautifully by now.
Remove in a bowl.
Next, add to a blender jar all the ingredients - 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1 tbsp of tahini paste (I have already posted a detailed video on making tahini the right way at home; you can check the link in the description box), 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 4-5 roasted garlic cloves, 1/4 tsp salt, roasted eggplants, 2-3 mint leaves. Blend everything together.
Remove the eggplant paste to a bowl. Pour 1/2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil. I do not use any other variety of olive oil. Please avoid Pomace olive oil.
Sprinkle red chili powder, mint powder and leave it for 5-6 hours at least for the flavors to infuse. I left overnight at room temperature covered with a cloth. That helped in lacto fermentation of baba ganoush. You will love it to the core. My husband, who is not an eggplant fan, loved this unique vegan dip and did not even realize that it uses brinjal. So happy and relieved.
Do give this healthy Indian recipe of Baba Ganoush a try and share your feedback in comments. I would love to hear back from you.
By the way I have also tried another Turkish recipe with eggplants and it tastes absolutely delicious - eggplant shakshuka in tomato gravy.
How long does it take to roast whole eggplant in air fryer?
The cook time for eggplant in my Prestige PAF 3.0 airfryer is almost 40-45 minutes at 180 deg c.
Eggplant Recipe in Airfryer - Shakshuka
For the eggplant shakshuka recipe, you need 3-4 eggplant. I have the cherry eggplant variety in Odisha. Chop or dice into small pieces. Pour 1 tbsp of oil. I have used extra virgin olive oil here. Salt goes in.
Mix it up and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before shifting eggplant to the airfryer for frying.
Bake eggplants at 180 degrees celsius for 25-35 minutes. Please check your airfryer /oven settings. We want eggplants to get roasted fully for this recipe. Check if done. If not, bake for 5 minutes more.
While eggplants are being baked, you may want to make tomato sauce. I have used homemade lacto-fermented ketchup for this recipe. If you are interested to learn about lacto fermented tomato sauce, I will share the link in description.
But if you are going crazy to cook this delicious side dish, prepare your tomato sauce right away. Heat oil in a pan. Fry 2-3 green chilies and remove. In the same oil, throw in some pounded garlic cloves. Add 2-3 tomatoes and salt. A little amount of jaggery for the sweet punch will add to the flavors. Mix it all up and cook until it turns into a sauce-like consistency. Add 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and a pinch of black pepper. Or you could make the sauce in oven/airfryer too.
Then once done, check eggplants and pour the sauce over the airfried eggplants when it is hot. Throw in the fried green chilies. Mix it all up.
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