It is believed that the birthplace of eggplant isIndia. They were grown there in the fifth century BC. They came to Europe after the conquests of Alexander the Great, but became popular as a food product much later. Distribution of eggplant dishes is associated with Arab expansion to the European continent. Having settled in Spain in 711, the Arabs tried to share with the local population not only culture, but also the cuisine of their people. In Russia, eggplants appeared in the seventeenth century, they were delivered either by merchants, or Cossacks from Turkey and Persia, where they were very popular at that time. At first, a thermophilic vegetable took root in the southern provinces, where eggplants received the tender name "blue ones."
Eggplant today is one of the mostpopular garden crops to be eaten. They prepare various dishes from it and make preparations for the winter. It has a low calorie content and many useful properties. The special value of eggplant is in the presence of a special vitamin that supports blood formation - folic acid. In addition, eggplants are a source of phenolic compounds that help strengthen capillaries and have anti-sclerotic effect.
Eggplants can be cooked in various ways.They can boil, fry or stew. Eggplant stew is a very tasty dish. There are many recipes, both everyday and festive. Braised eggplant can also be prepared as a billet for the winter. In combination with other vegetables, they guarantee a bouquet of aroma and taste. Eggplant stewed with vegetables can be served with meat, or as a separate dish.
It is very important to choose the right eggplants.extinguishing in particular and for cooking in general. Since the vegetable contains the harmful substance solanine, which gives everyone a known bitterness, it is necessary to choose young and not overripe fruits. In young eggplants solanine is much smaller and easier to remove. To do this, cut the eggplant into circles, sprinkle with salt, wait until the juice comes out, then wash it off, and with it the bitterness and solanine will go away. You can soak the sliced vegetable in salt water for about a quarter of an hour - the effect will be the same.
After that, eggplant stew cooked verysimply. Eggplant circles must be laid out in a cauldron or a thick-bottomed pot, pour sour cream and simmer for 30 minutes. Before serving the dish is sprinkled with plenty of chopped greens.
Eggplants can be prepared for the holiday tablestewed with the taste of mushrooms. To do this, you need to cut two large young eggplants into cubes. Next, getting rid of solanine by known methods, put the pieces on a griddle with hot oil. While it is necessary to fry the eggplants, mash and dissolve the bouillon cube with mushroom flavor in a small amount of hot water, add three tablespoons of sour cream to the same place and pour the prepared pieces into the prepared mixture. After it remains to stew, the blue ones should be served hot for about 15 minutes. Especially, it will be relevant to the table on which there are meat dishes.
Баклажаны тушеные с овощами можно подавать как в hot and cold. They are stewed together with carrots, onions, sweet peppers, tomatoes, garlic. There are many recipes, but, in principle, the number and proportions of vegetables depend on your taste.
A dish simpler, but no less tasty, isstewed eggplants with tomatoes. Both eggplants and tomatoes are fried in sunflower oil. Then the eggplants, doused with sauce, are stewed in a cauldron for a quarter of an hour, and a few minutes before the end of the stewing process, roasted tomatoes and crushed garlic are laid in a cauldron. Served with eggplants stewed with tomatoes, sprinkled on top with chopped greens.
Eggplant dishes are very tasty and healthy, but they are contraindicated for people suffering from diseases of the stomach and intestines.
