I was inspired by Fleur’s Vegan Kitchen to fry up some aubergine/eggplant, but I did not want to use breadcrumbs for no good reason other that I didn’t fancy it. I did fancy making up my own batter, so instead, I used chickpea (or gram) flour and oat bran (making it gluten free for those who are partial to that).
The chickpea flour and oat bran add a nutty flavour and great texture to the richness of the aubergine. This is a simple and quick dish. These shallow fried aubergine patties are crunchy and are good hot or cold.
Makes a little over a dozen patties. Recipe after the photo.
Ingredients
- 2-3 aubergine/eggplant (depending on size)
- 3/4 cups chickpea flour (aka gram flour)
- 3/4 cups oatbran
- 1 teaspoon asafoetida
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- a good amount of freshly ground pepper
- 3/4 cups soy/almond/hemp milk (or other non-dairy milk of your choice, but rice milk would be too thin)
- seed or vegetable oil for frying (see tips here for shallow frying)
Method
Pour each of the flour and the oat bran in separate, wide mouthed containers or plates. Mix the salt and pepper in the flour, mix well and taste to ensure seasoning is to your liking. Add the asafoetida (I recommend tasting the flour mixture before you’ve added this because asafoetida doesn’t taste great uncooked).
Slice the aubergine into round disks no thicker than half the tip of your index finger. Dredge each side in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip into the non-dairy milk and then dredge each side through the oat bran. Set aside until you’ve covered all pieces.
Shallow fry and serve hot for crunchiest texture, but any leftovers are great even the next day. Follow my tips for Shallow Frying Basics here.
Leave a Reply