How to roast eggplants? sliced or cubed....

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

hi
i'm new on here and from ISRAEL.
glad to have a place to ask about food. i'm thrilled!!!!

there is a great person who answers food questions in Hebrew but i'm not longer using facebook, so i can't ask the group he is having on facebook.

this is one of the reasons why i came to ask here.



often i'm making Ingreii. an iraqi dish made with eggplants and meat.
i've this technique when i roasting a slices eggplant in the over first. otherwise the eggplant is too wet to put directly in the dish.
after roasting the slices i cube them with a chef's knife.


i want to know what is better? Roasting the raw eggplant cubes, or slices in the oven, if the slices are intended to be cubed after the roasting anyway, and then added to a thick sauce? I used to slice instead of cubing them as described, but now rethinking it.


i thought is that i should roast the in slices and afterwards cube them. because i don't want them to be too tough in the sauce because they will not
disassemble this way.


am i correct in your opinion?


hope i gave you some great idea for making Ingrii yourself.
i write my recipes in Hebrew so it is not easy to share for now....


let me know if i'm right in my assumption please


have a magical day!!

 

[menumaker]

Hi,
Welcome you!
I live in S W France and use Egg plant ( Aubergine to us) quite often. Today for instance I cubed some and roasted it with a fine spray of olive oil for 30 minutes because I was making an Indian Aubergine and coconut curry and didn’t want it too wet in the sauce.
As I had 3 left over and the oven was on, I thick sliced them and baked them ( with no oil this time) for 15 minutes. Let them get really cold on the baking sheets to freeze them for another time. So, for me, it depends on how I am using them and how the recipe fits. As you feel I think.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I watched an ATK show where they roasted (nuked) eggplant in the microwave.
Whole with the skin on.
I was astonished at how long they allowed the eggplants to cook on high in a microwave.
I do not remember how long, but it was close to 1/2 hour. Somewhere in that range.
The skins came right off and without any draining were used in a dish.

Personally I would roast them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt/pepper.
I think roasting, nuking or leaving them whole or cut up would depend on what dish I was making.

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

Hi,
Welcome you!
I live in S W France and use Egg plant ( Aubergine to us) quite often. Today for instance I cubed some and roasted it with a fine spray of olive oil for 30 minutes because I was making an Indian Aubergine and coconut curry and didn’t want it too wet in the sauce.
As I had 3 left over and the oven was on, I thick sliced them and baked them ( with no oil this time) for 15 minutes. Let them get really cold on the baking sheets to freeze them for another time. So, for me, it depends on how I am using them and how the recipe fits. As you feel I think.

THANKS )


i was in your region once upon a time..


i thought that i'm the only one who roast them for using in a sauce later, and glad (but also not so glad) that it isn't only me


i roast them for more than 15 minutes depending on different factors.


eggplants are not used very commonly because people aren't sure what to do with them most of the time.


i'm RON

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

I watched an ATK show where they roasted (nuked) eggplant in the microwave.
Whole with the skin on.
I was astonished at how long they allowed the eggplants to cook on high in a microwave.
I do not remember how long, but it was close to 1/2 hour. Somewhere in that range.
The skins came right off and without any draining were used in a dish.

Personally I would roast them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt/pepper.
I think roasting, nuking or leaving them whole or cut up would depend on what dish I was making.

Hi, it's an interesting idea.
i don't like to use my microwave for a long time because it's in a small kitchen cabinet and i worry it will over heat.
when i comes to my aim with eggplant i prefer to roast without oil or salt because i add them later.
am i wrong?
also. maybe they will get more soggy with the oil..


in israel people eat eggplants a lot. especially in a SABICH (it was me who shot the main photo there......) at first the didn't accepted the photos but after some years they did.
i didn't knew that my photo will get "famous" like that


THANK YOU

 

[pepperhead212]

Welcome to the forum!

As noted above, it all depends on what you are using the eggplants for. I often roast the EP whole, to scrape the flesh out of, or actually I grill them, as I am normally getting the most from my garden in the summer, when I don't like turning on my oven! Sometimes I grill them in slices, to prepare for other dishes, but usually, cubes I prepare on the stovetop, though they can also be rubbed down with oil, and grilled, as well. It's better to rub the cubes or slices, and even the skin with whole, if roasting/grilling eggplants, as it keeps them from drying out as much, and helps them brown better.

 

[taxlady]

SEEING-TO-BELIEVE, do you want the egg plant to be in cubes in your sauce when you serve it or do you want it to fall apart?

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Slice your eggplant(s), place them on a rack with paper towels underneath, sprinkle generously with kosher salt, turn over and sprinkle the other side, then let them rest for 15 to 30 minutes. This will leach excess water from the eggplant. Quickly rinse off the salt under running water, dry on paper towels, and then use as you normally would in your recipe.

 

[menumaker]

Ron is easier �� hope you are happy to find another aubergine roaster ��

 

[karadekoolaid]

Hey! Welcome here!
I love aubergines/eggplants, and cook them frequently.
I´m not familiar with the dish you´re cooking, ( is it something like Tepsi Baytinijan?) but you say you first roast them in the oven, then cube them, so that means the aubergine slices must be pretty thick.
Aubergines always absorb loads of oil, so if, for example, you were to fry them first, you´d need to do so slowly. A pan of aubergine cubes might take 15 minutes to cook through.
In the oven, I´d just put the slices on a baking tray, paint them with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and let them cook (covered) for about 20 minutes.

 

[SEEING-TO-BELIEVE]

Hi again people
thank you for advising me!


i like this dish to have the eggplants that are somewhere between falling apart and being somewhat still in pieces.


i will try to add a photo of the dish which i make with grounded chicken thighs although traditionally made with ground beef or pieces of beef.
the photo is a version of eggplants slices in which i don't like to make anymore..


the jewish iraqi kitchen is interesting. it has a lot of very tasty dishes.