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Fried eggplant in lemon and mint
Simple fried eggplant is a classic Iraqi delight, and when done right, is one of the best dishes on earth!
Do not skip salting and letting the eggplant sit in a colander in order to remove the bitterness. This is key to get a sweet eggplant for any eggplant dish you prepare.
The classic black eggplant variety works best in recipes that require frying, like this one. Choosing the right eggplant is half the trick: it should be light as feather and dark as the night. In other words, relatively light, so it doesn't have a lot of the bitter seeds, and bright black, showing it is fresh and young.
Serve the eggplant over a slice of a good bread.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Resting time 30 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 150 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 regular eggplant (see note above)
- Kosher salt for sprinkling
- Corn oil for frying
- Juice from half a lemon
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons mint finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno thinly slices (optional)
Instructions
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Peel the eggplant using a vegetable peeler (you can also leave stripes of peel). Slice the eggplant into 1/3” think round or long slices. Arrange the slices in a colander and sprinkle every layer with kosher salt. Put the colander over a large bowl and let the eggplant stand for one to two hours.
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Wash the eggplant under running water then dry with paper towels.
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In a frying pan over medium heat put 1/4” corn oil for frying. Fry the eggplants in one layer (you will have to do it in two batches) until the slices are deep golden brown. Transfer to a tray lined with paper towels.
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In a small bowl mix the lemon juice and garlic.
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Arrange the eggplant slices on a serving tray, drizzle the lemon juice on top and sprinkle with mint and jalapeno.
