Brinjal or Eggplant or Aubergine - What's in a Name?

Brinjal or Eggplant or Aubergine

This vegetable of the Nightshade family is known by different names in different parts of the world: Aubergine in France, Eggplant in North America, and here in India we know it as Brinjal. Brinjal is native to India and there are nearly 2500 varieties of Brinjal grown here. They can be white, green, purple, round, long, huge, tiny, striped, etc. So when I sourced my brinjal seeds from the local nursery without knowing the variety, there was much suspense about the kind of fruit I would get. Nearly three months later I found out that my brinjal is the small, round, purple variety. 

Brinjal Bounty

Before cooking brinjal, one is advised to salt, rinse and drain it, to rid it of its slight bitterness. Raw Brinjal, in fact, can’t be eaten as they are somewhat bitter; the reason is that they contain minute amounts of nicotine. Here’s a fun fact sourced from Wikipedia: Nine Kgs of brinjal contain a cigaretteful of nicotine. But once brinjal is cooked, its flesh turns succulent, almost melting, with a rich, slightly meaty flavour. This vegetable is extremely versatile and there are a mind boggling number of recipes that one can choose from around the world. Very often, the brinjals in my kitchen find their way into sambhar, vangi bhaat (brinjal rice) or a tomato brinjal curry. Yet, Deep-fried Brinjal slices (Sicilian style) and Baba Ghanoush are my favourites.

A Recent Harvest

Salted Brinjal Slices: To be Rinsed and Drained

Baba Ghanoush is a wonderful Middle Eastern dish, in which baked brinjal is mashed and combined with olive oil and seasoning. There are many more mouthwatering brinjal recipes. Like the Turkish Imam Bayildi (brinjals stuffed with tomato, garlic and onions and simmered in olive oil). Imam Bayildi literally means the “Imam (Muslim Priest) fainted”; he fainted after eating the dish as it was so good. Now, with an interesting name like that, one is strongly urged to try it out.

 

Let me sign off with the story of an unusal  experiment. An Indian farmer from Chattisgarh has grafted Tomato and Brinjal into a single plant and is getting good results. Since both tomato and brinjal belong to the same family, such an experiment is possible. Here is the link to the video. Can we further this logic and grow all Solanaceae species in the same plant. Can we have a “potato, tomato, chilly, capsicum and brinjal all-in-one” plant? Somehow, I find the idea disagreeable, even if it is to bear fruit (pun intended).

Camouflage

What do you see in the picture below? A dried Almond tree leaf, a fallen almond and some other dried leaves. Look harder.

Camouflage: Spot the Odd One

Can you spot the spindly legs of the brown Leaf Insect sitting on the almond leaf? I nearly missed it, but when I saw the leaves move in the absence of a breeze, I looked closer and was in for a surprise. Not only does this creature look like brown leaves, it also tries to mimic the movement of leaves being blown in the wind. The insect rocks back and forth as it moves.

Brown Leaf Insect

Here is a clear shot of the insect. If someone can help me identify it more accurately, please let me know.

Meet the Oldest Tree in Chennai

The international headquarters of the Theosophical Society is located in Chennai, just a couple of miles from my home. Dedicated towards Theosophy, this unique society encourages the study of different religions and philosophies.  According to Lonely Planet, its library houses a vast collection of religious books, including “thousand-year-old Buddhist scrolls and intricate, handmade 19th-century bibles”. Yet, more often visitors, including myself, are drawn here for another reason – its natural beauty.  Of late, I’ve been making regular trips and I find I’m getting addicted to the fragrance and the loveliness of the place.

Burmese Pink Cassia

Tree Canopy

Vinka Lined Path leading to the Parsi Fire Temple

The entire campus is canopied by old, majestic trees. Paths leading to various bungalows and places of worship are lined with flowering shrubs that are often mobbed by swarms of butterflies and colourful dragonflies.  Although nature hasn’t been allowed to grow completely wild, here you will not find well manicured gardens, save for a few patches. Instead you may often find yourself under eerie bat colonies, buzzing bee hives or monstrous hornet nests. But it is this wilderness, in the heart of bustling Chennai, which I find so alluring.

Flying Fox Colony

Bee Hive Near the Cannon Ball / Nagalingam Tree

Hornet's Nest

The star attraction of the Theosophical Society is the Great Banyan Tree, the oldest tree in Chennai.  The tree is over 450 years old, and by the latest record, is spread over 65,000 square feet. It is not surprising then, that it can host a gathering of 3000 at a time.  The tree’s central trunk was destroyed in a storm, years ago, but now its prop roots support the tree and it continues to encompass more ground each passing year.  When one learns that the tree has been host to great souls like Gandhi, Maria Montessori, the Dalai Lama and J. Krishnamurti among others, one feels even more reverence for it. 

Great Banyan Tree: Over 450 years Old and Spread Across 65,000 sq ft.

There is another tree that characterizes the campus: the Nagalinga tree or the Cannon Ball tree. Native to the Amazonian rain forests, this is a tall tree with beautiful fragrant flowers that one can smell from a mile off. The Nagalinga flower attracts  hordes of bees and strangely it springs directly from the bark of the tree trunk.  If that’s not enough oddness for one tree, there’s more.  Its fruit is woody and resembles a cannon ball that can cause considerable harm if it were to fall on you. The flower is considered sacred in India as the petals resemble the hood of a Naga (snake) protecting a Shiva lingam (the stigma).

Nagalingam Tree/Cannon Ball Tree

Nagalingam Pushpa (Flower)

From Another Angle

Bordering the campus is the Adyar river, on the banks of which one can find many large water birds and Giant Ghost Crabs. And though I tried hard to get a picture of the Giant crab, they were just too quick for me. These crabs crawled into their holes, the moment they sensed my presence from afar. 

Cactus

Cactus Flowers

Palm Flowers

Snail

Enclosed within 100 acres of land, the Theosophical Society campus is a treasure house of diverse plant and animal species. The campus can easily be mistaken for a botanical garden. For a pictorial reference of the flora and fauna that reside here, click on the links you will find here.

Tamarind Drying

Harvested Coconuts

Rofous Treepie

Good News From My Garden

There’s some good news! A crow couple, which lives adjacent to my building, is expecting triplets.  They have a nest atop a coconut tree, which I can peek into from the stair case landing of the third floor. The would-be parents are guarding the eggs round the clock. But on this rare occasion, the parents were away and I managed to take two good photos of the pale green eggs in their nest.

Three Crow's Eggs

Nearly Hidden From View

Despite the scorching heat in the afternoon, the evenings are often cool and pleasant. Occasionally we even have a spell of rain. Early in the week, when it was about to rain, this Kingfisher seemed rapturous. It went about shrieking “Kee Kee Kee Keeeee”, almost begging me to take a picture of it. So I obliged.

White Breasted Kingfisher

In my earlier post, Birds from My Window, I’d mentioned the rare sighting of the Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker. Well, I recently spotted it for the second time. It was right above me, but I didn’t have my camera handy. By the time I went up and down three floors for my camera, the bird had moved away, thanks to the crows. But here is a zoomed in, long shot of the beauty.

Lesser Golden-Backed Woodpecker

Coming to the flora in my garden. The suspense with regard to my brinjal is over.  And it is…. it is the small, round, purple variety. It was delicious, almost melting, as I had it in my sambar yesterday.

Purple Brinjal Drenched in the Rain

Let me sign off with pictures from the balcony garden and the garden downstairs.

Pomegranate Blooms

Bunches of Pink Ixora flowers

Spotted Leaves and Floor: Caladium Plant

Say "Chillieees"

I was born and mostly raised in the land of Chillies – Andhra Pradesh. The typical Andhraite loves his food searingly hot and spicy. Often, after a traditional Andhra meal, my mouth and fingers would burn for long time. My gut would be on fire and I would have to douse it with a large cup of curd or butter milk.  Yet in my own home, chillies were sparingly used.  So I never quite honed my taste buds to savour these peppers. That was until I grew my own. Growing vegetables has made me deeply appreciative of the food I eat. I’ve become more aware of their freshness and taste. As for chillies, they’ve regained their rightful place in the kitchen.

Freshly Harvested Green Chillies

When my neighbour was growing chillies, she offered me a young seedling, which I readily accepted. The seedling has grown into a large bushy plant now and is quite prolific. When young, the chilly is light green, has a wrinkled appearance and is rather long, often with a twisted end. Later, it turns a beautiful bright red. It could very well be the Indian Jwala (volcano) variety but I’m not sure. I’m hoping that a reader will help me identify it correctly. Googling hasn’t quite helped; instead I’ve come across this great link on some chilly FAQs, which I’d like to share with you. It has some useful tips on how to preserve chillies for a longer time, how to reduce the burning sensation when handling them, etc.

Tiny, White Chilly Bloom

Chilli Plant with Chillies

For my small family, which consumes few chillies, this single plant is all we need. One advantage of having your own chilly plant is that you can harvest chillies as per your tolerance levels. Most chillies turn hotter as they mature. Having my own plant now makes it’s very easy for me to choose a tender young chilly that’s just the degree of hotness that will suit my three-year-old. If my green chillies are left longer on the plant, they turn a fiery red with a hotness that’s mind numbing. When I bit into a fresh red chilly from my plant, for a few minutes, I didn’t know what hit me. It seemed like a volcano had erupted in my mouth.

Tender, Young Chillies: Less Hot

Red Chilly on the Plant

Colour Contrasts: Red Chilly Drying and Yellow Spotted Insect

Though fresh red chillies can be ground and used in Thai red curry pastes and similarly spicy hot preparations, I prefer to use them whole, after drying. They seem a lot tamer that way. The standard South Indian seasoning I frequently use, calls for whole dry red chillies, mustard seeds and curry leaves fried for just a few seconds in hot oil. If done right, the aroma of this seasoning is heavenly. There are so many more exciting ways to use chillies: a hint of green chillies in jam or fruit juice, spicy hot chutneys, finger licking stuffed red chilly pickles, green chilly ice cream, chilly Bajjis on a rainy day, Mexican chocolate and chilly sauce and I’ve even heard of chilly beer.

Brinjal and Other Blooms

My Brinjal plant has bloomed for the first time this season and I'm really excited. Not knowing what variety of brinjal I've planted, I've been waiting for the fruit for a while. I'll soon get my answer.

Brinjal Flower

Brinjal Bud

Here are my ladies finger blooms wishing me "Good Morning!". It's the second season. And though the earlier ant infestation has diminished on its own, the fruits are markedly smaller this time.

Ladies Finger Flowers

A Beetle on this Flower

The papaya tree in our shared garden is blooming.

Papaya flower

It's been planted too close to the wall and I was afraid that it wouldn't survive. Yet here it is, and it's fruiting.

Papaya Tree

 I'll sign off with a picture of my purple heart flowers in the balcony garden.

Purple Heart

Tough Nut to Crack

My recent trip to Auroville was very fruitful, quite literally. With summer fruits abounding, people freely offered us many fruits. Freebie fruits earned were: Jackfruit, Papaya and Cashew nuts. But this post is mostly about cashew nuts.

Cashew Nuts

Auroville, is dotted with many organic farms that grow cashew nuts, among other things. With the recent media attention on the deadly endosulphan usage on cashew nut trees, I believe Auroville's cashews are prized nuts. But in Auroville, they do not seem to think so; cashew nuts strewn on the road, probably never to be picked, were a common sight.  With the realization that the fallen fruit would probably rot, I picked up a handful.

Cashew Fruit and Flowers

Now for some facts. There are two parts to the cashew fruit: the soft cashew apple and the hard cashew nut. The actual cashew kernel that we eat is the "seed " found inside a hard shell. In Goa, the cashew apple pulp is fermented to make a drink called "Feni". Though cashew nuts are relished all over the world, cashew apples are not so popular, in part because they aren't easily transportable. Vietnam, India and Brazil are the top cashew producers. 

Red Ripe Cashew Apple

I've never cracked open cashew nuts before so I called my mother. Having grown up in a house full of cashew trees, she knows how to extract them. She explained to me the traditional method of roasting them. All the fallen cashew nuts are picked up, usually by kids and placed in a pile of palm leaves. The pile is then lit and an adult turns the cashews around constantly with a long stick, to avoid scorching them. Strict adult supervision is needed as an oil is released; this oil is rather toxic and can easily catch fire. Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) is a highly  allergenic oil that can cause severe, even life-threatening reactions.

Cashew Nuts

My Cashew Kernel Extraction Kit

Since I had only a handful of cashews I decided to crack them. Yet, even this exercise had to be performed outdoors with due care. With gloves and  glasses  I made sure I avoided any contact with the toxic CNSL. The fruits of my labour are crushed cashew nuts, which I will roast (to get rid of the toxic oil) and probably add to some Kheer. Perhaps, drying the nuts before I cracked them would have resulted in whole kernels. Still, I can console myself with the thought, that more experience doesn't necessarily yield whole cashews. The reason why we have different grades of cashews in our shops: full, half and broken, is that cashew kernels are not easy to extract, even by experts.

Tough Nuts to Crack: Crushed Cashew Nuts

There is another nut tree in our building complex: the Almond Tree. The almond, unlike cashew is safe to handle and far easier to extract. Here is a picture of a half-hearted attempt at cracking an almond. My little boy loves these nut extraction activities and wants to "grow big" to be able to do it himself.

Fresh Almonds

Here is another picture. Though it does look like a nut, it is the tangy Tamarind; another fruit I rescued from the ground.The tamarind shell breaks easily with just a little pressure. Even a kid can do this, which is nice because tart tamarind is a hit with children.

Tamarind from the Tree

Tamarind is derived from Arabic "Tamar-E-Hind" literally meaning Dates from India. Tamarind is used almost daily in South Indian cooking. In fact, India is both the largest producer and consumer of Tamarind in the world. 

Tamarind: Fruit, Seed and Shell