When Chef Vaibhav Cooked Crispy Eggplant At HT City Unwind
Image Credit: Image: Slurrp

A live cooking session is an exciting event to witness both for home chefs and foodies. But did you ever think of being a part of it too? And not just be a part of it, but also cook alongside some of the popular chefs in India? Well, HT City Unwind did that over the weekend when it brought together Chef Kunal Kapur, Chef Saby, Chef Varun Inamdar, and many more, under the same roof. They took over the Masterchef Cookout zone at one of Delhi’s most talked-about food and music festivals – HT City Unwind. 

The festival - which started on October 7 and ended on October 9 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium - was an unforgettable weekend of music, food, and fun. The Slurrp Masterchef Cook Along zone was where the celebrity chefs were cooking live and sharing tips, tricks, and exclusive recipes.  

The lucky winners joined some of the chefs on stage and cooked alongside the culinary wizards. All they had to do was participate in the Masterchef Cookalong Recipe Contest. The live cooking session turned out to be an exciting event, as each chef showcased their skills and put together a spectacular line-up of dishes. 

 For instance, Chef Vaibhav Bhargava - who is known to be a modern Asian food specialist, besides being an expert in molecular gastronomy - cooked an array of unique dishes at the event, including a warm crispy eggplant. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Here’s the recipe.  

  Ingredients

  • 150 gm eggplant 
  • 70 gm cornflour  
  • 10 gm Sriracha  
  • 3 gm salt  
  • 3 gm broth  
  • 5 gm lemon juice 
  • 100 gm chilli caramelize sauce  
  • 2 gm basil  
  • 2 gm mint 
  • 2 gm coriander 
  • 15 gm Tanuki crumb  
  • 15 gm Panko crumb 
  • 8 gm fried garlic 
  • 8 gm fried onion 
  • 10 gm roasted peanut 
  • 1 gm micro green 
  • Naucham sauce 

For Chilli Caramelize Sauce  

  • 500 gm brown sugar 
  • 100 gm red chilli chop  
  • 150 ml water  
  • Oil

For Tanuki Crumb 

  • 100 gm Tanuki 
  • 35 gm Togarashi 
  • 15 gm broth     
  • 100 gm brown garlic  

For Panko Crumb 

  • 200 gm bread crumbs 
  • 100 gm brown onion  
  • 100 gm brown garlic
  • 30 gm Togarashi 
  • 30 gm broth     
  • 30 gm sugar 
  • 40 gm white sesame seeds

For Naucham Sauce  

  • 0.2 gm garlic chop 
  • 0.18 gm red chilli chop 
  • 0.1 gm coriander root 
  • 1 litre lemon juice 
  • 1 kg sugar  
  • 0.05 gm veg broth 
  • 0.05 gm salt  

Method:  

For the crumb: 

  • Heat a pan, put bread crumbs in it and stir it until it becomes golden brown. 
  • Add salt, white pepper, sweetener, sugar, Japanese seven spice, and brown garlic. 
  • Mix it well and take it out in a bowl.  
  • This will be used for garnishing.

 

For the caramel sauce:  

  • Take a pan, add brown sugar to it.
  • Allow it to melt until the granules dissolve. 
  • Add water and stir well. 
  • Boil it for 1 or 2 minutes. 
  • Take another pan, and add oil, garlic, ginger, and chilies. 
  • Sauté them until they become brown. 
  • Add finely chopped coriander roots, and put caramel sauce in it. 
  • Mix well, then add salt, sugar, veg broth, and white pepper. 
  • Boil for 1 or 2 mins and take it out in a bowl. 
  • Take another pan. Heat oil for frying the eggplant.  
  • In a bowl, put corn flour, salt, and white pepper. 
  • Coat the eggplant nicely and keep it on a plate. 
  • After the oil is heated, fry coated eggplant until it becomes crispy and golden brown. 
  • Take another heated pan and put caramel sauce in it.
  • Then, put the crispy eggplant and stir it, so that the caramel coats it nicely. 
  • Take it out on a plate and serve.