Chaa Da Cup - Please!
Chaa Da Cup - Please! is a food blog created for all food lovers
(n.b - mostly chai loving lovers).
The various mixtures of ingredients and recipes complement a hearty Chaa Da Cup! - you'll probably be looking (asking) for one ;)
This is my version of home cooked Punjabi-Kenyan heartiness.
No.28 – Veggie Moussaka
13 different ingredients - 1hour to prepare - serves over 5 people
Ingredients:
250gms - plain white baking flour.
250gms - milk.
100gms - salted/unsalted butter.
250gms - cheese (grated).
1 large - egg plant (sliced).
6 large - tomatoes (puree).
5 large - potatoes (sliced).
1 large - white/red onion (sliced).
5 cloves - garlic (paste).
5 large - green chillies (paste).
1 tsp - salt (flat).
1/4 tsp - haldi (turmeric powder).
1/4 tsp - jeera (cumin seeds).
Method:
Preparing the Veggies:
In a large, bowl peel, wash and cut 1 large white or red onion into long slices, and place it on a side.
In a large bowl, peel and wash the potatoes.
In a large plate, peel, wash and cut the egg plant. into 1-1.5cm thick slices, and place it on a side.
Wash and grind 5 large tomatoes.
Peel, wash and grind 5 large cloves of garlic.
Wash and cut 5 large green chillies.
In a large pot add some water and boil the potatoes until they are soft and cooked. Once cooked until soft, take them out of the hot water and cool them down, cut the cooled potatoes into 1-1.5cm thick slices.
In a large pan add a few tbsps of vegetable oil and shallow fry the thick slices of eggplant in the oil, cooking them on both sides until golden brown.
Making the White Sauce:
In a large pan add 250gms of salted/unsalted butter and 250gms of plain baking flour, let the butter melt and the flour mix into the butter. Allow the mixture to become a thick runny paste whilst it cooks. Once the mixture turn golden brown whisk 250gms of milk into the mixture allowing it to become a thick runny creamy sauce.
Once the sauce has no lumps in it, whisk 50gms of grated cheese into the sauce allowing it the sauce to thicken. Add 1 tsp flat of salt and black pepper to taste.
Making the Red Sauce:
Add a few tbsps of vegetable oil in a large pan and shallow fry the sliced onions, add a tsp of jeera (cumin seeds) to the onions and allow the mixture to cook. Once the onions turn golden brown add the garlic and green chilli paste to the pan, allow all the ingredients to cook and combine as one. After a good 10-15min shallow fry (on controlled heat), add the puree of the tomatoes to the pan alongside 1 flat tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of haldi.
Allow all the ingredients to now cook together to become a thick runny curry base paste full of flavour. Once the curry paste is thick and all the ingredients within are cooked, take the pan off the heat and place it on a side.
Assembling the Moussaka:
In a large baking dish add 1 layer of red sauce at the bottom, followed by a layer of both the cooked slices of potatoes and egg plant, then a layer of the white sauce over and a final layer of grated cheese at the top to complete the full first layer (note best: 1 layer consists of 4 small layers being; red sauce - potatoes+eggplant slices - white sauce - grated cheese).
Carry on this process of layering up until your baking dish is full (leave some space for the last layer to breath into the dish at the top, as the layers will bubble in the dish when in the oven whilst baking and could pour out if over filled), and/or until all your red sauce, veggies, white sauce and grated cheese is over.
Once the assembly is complete, place the baking dish(es) into a preheated (180 degrees) oven for 35-40min. Using a knife poke through into the dish to see if everything is cooked, if the knife goes in and out smoothly it is cooked, if not give the dish another 10min to bake and cook then take it out.
Finally serve your hot delicious goodness with an ice-cold ice tea! Or keeping it regular, serve your dish with a steaming hot chaa da cup - please!
Let us know below in the the comments how your Veggie Moussaka turns out!
IG: hangrybeings/ chaadacupplease, #hangrybeings/ #chaadacupplease
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