Pickled Onions & Fried Garlic Baigan & Potato Choka
Baigan (eggplant) Choka and Potato Choka are not complicated things to make. They are quick, easy and always tasty. The most ‘technical’ part of making Baigan Choka is fire-roasting the eggplants. For added flavour, we generally stuff slivers of garlic into cuts made all over the vegetable. Once roasted and the charred skin removed, the pulp is mashed with finely minced hot pepper, scallions, salt and a drizzle of hot oil. If you want to get fancy, add a fire-roasted tomato. For Potato Choka - mash boiled potatoes along with salt, finely minced hot pepper and thinly sliced scallions or onions. That’s it. Really. This was my original plan last week when I decided to make these two Choka(s) along with Sada roti. However, somewhere along the way, I decided I was going to make pickled onions for the Choka(s), season them with fried garlic and its oil as well as ground geera (cumin). As I sat down to eat and tasted the food, I got a little misty-eyed and wondered when I am going to be able to visit Guyana again as another lockdown in Barbados loomed. It’s here as I write this column.
One of the rewarding things about cooking is not only the freedom to adjust things to suit your taste, but also, how making the smallest of changes can improve the taste. Yes, I know that some of those same changes and adjustments can make things worse (laugh). I am mindful that sometimes the bite of raw onions and raw garlic can be off-putting, and on occasion, when left to sit in foods if not being consumed right away, or not kept in certain conditions, spoilage can occur, or as we would say, ‘make the food sour’. Unless entertaining, most of the time I am cooking for one, so there are always leftovers, therefore, I am mindful of certain raw ingredients in combination with others in dishes. I don’t know if that was the main reason for me pickling the onions and frying the garlic or if I just wanted to change things up a little, whichever the reason, my tastebuds were thankful.
The pickled onions mellowed the sharpness of the onions and added complimentary tartness to both Choka(s) - I added some of the pickling liquid as well! The textural crunch in the Baigan Choka came from the mild onion flavour of the heads of scallions and the blades. Pouring a little smoking hot oil over the minced hot peppers and scallions atop the Baigan Choka, meant it was also infused with a flavoured oil.
Unlike Baigan Choka which has that highly flavourful and aromatic smoky element to it and can stand on its own, Potato Choka needs a little more work. As I mentioned just now, I added pickled onions and some of the juice to the Choka and mixed in it well. But the flavouring did not stop there. I topped the Potato Choka first with sliced scallions, minced hot peppers and a sprinkling of freshly ground geera, then I fried thinly sliced garlic in oil and poured the hot garlic-infused oil and along with the garlic all over top of the Choka then mixed it all in. The aroma of the fried garlic mixed with that of the heated geera was highly appetizing.
Now here’s the thing, whenever I make any type of Choka or chutney, I like to let it sit for a bit so that the flavours could meld/set-up, about half an hour. Try this the next time you make a Choka or chutney and you will taste the difference. Or perhaps you already do if you’ve had leftovers that you ate the following day. I find these types of dishes are best served at room temperature.
As the Potato Choka sits, the once crisp garlic softens adding more taste to the Choka.
To ensure the oil is infused with the garlic flavour, you want to add the oil and garlic to the pan or metal ladle, cold. Place over medium low heat so that it cooks slowly and gently. Let the garlic cook until the edges start to change colour, light brown then remove it from the heat and immediately pour it over the Choka. You can use this method also for Baigan Choka if you do not want to stuff the eggplant with slices of garlic before roasting.
Pickling the onions is simple - finely chop onions (white, yellow or purple), sprinkle with salt to taste and add fresh-squeezed lime or lemon juice, stir and let sit as you set about roasting the eggplant and boiling the potatoes.
It’s the little things that make a big difference, don’t you think?
Have a good weekend everyone.