Last Updated on 20th August 2021 by
Eggplants are a versatile vegetable that go by a few names. They are known as aubergine, baingan and melongene, as well as a few other monikers. What I love about eggplants is how they have a chewy texture to them that makes them a good substitute for meat.
They are very popular among vegetarians for that reason, because they can be adapted into a lot of different dishes and serve as the “meat” of the meal.
You can make eggplant lasagna, eggplant parmesan and even eggplant pizzas, using this versatile vegetable as a fill in for tons of other foods. That’s just scratching the surface of what you can do with eggplants, but I want to focus here on tiny, miniaturised version of eggplants known as baby eggplants.
These are adorable little eggplants that taste just like their larger counterparts, but you can easily eat a few of them in single meal.
Why use baby eggplants instead of the full grown version? I like them because you can roast them fast. It’s a food that cooks in much less time, so they come in handy for quick lunches or simple dinners.
They aren’t as wide or as thick across as the regular-sized, traditional eggplants, so there is less stuff for the heat to cook through.
They taste just like the regular, full-sized versions too, so you aren’t missing out on anything. If you haven’t tried this miniaturised version of the veggie, I want to kickstart your love for them by sharing some recipes for baby eggplant that anyone can make.
None of the recipes provided in this article will require any specialised kitchen equipment or ingredients that are hard to get. You may even have everything on hand already to make them.
I want eggplants to be accessible to you and not feel like that weird purple vegetable you always avoid at the grocery. Your relationship with eggplants can be a much more interesting one as you get familiar with how to cook them, how to use them in your meals and what they taste like.
I think you too will see the advantages of incorporating another food into your menus, especially one that can be used in so many different ways and cooked without a lot of fuss or mess involved.
Roasted Baby Eggplant
This is one of my favourite roasted baby eggplant recipes. The eggplants come out tender and crispy, well-seasoned and flavourful, and it’s not a difficult dish to make at all.
Roasted Baby Eggplant
Ingredients
- 6 baby eggplants
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt flakes
- Presley leaves
- Olive oil for serving
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- As the oven is heating, you can oil a baking tray with your olive oil. Sprinkle chili flakes, cumin, and coriander onto the oil.
- Slice eggplants in half and place them on the oil, with the cut side facing down. Move them around in the seasoning and oil a bit so they can pick up some flavor.
- When the oven has heated, flip over the eggplants so that the cut side is facing up. Place the baking tray of eggplants into the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
- When the eggplants come out of the oven, garnish them with some salt, parsley, and olive oil and then serve.
Baby eggplant recipes like this give you some ideas to start with, and you can add your own garnishes and flavourings to bring out the taste you want from your eggplants.
Spiced Baby Eggplant
Indian baby eggplant recipes can be pretty complicated, but I want to give you a simple one that you can make without too much trouble and without a boatload of seasonings. Indian food tends to have tons of seasoning and will often use curry to flavour and spice the food.
For people who are not used to eating Indian food, it can be tough to cook with curry, because you may to know how much to use to make it tasty and palatable for you.
The baby eggplant recipes Indian cooks use don’t have to be complicated and curry infused. This one aims for simplicity and it is a good one to start with that won’t tax your cooking skills too much and yet will still offer authentic Indian cuisine flavour and make for a hearty meal.
Spiced Baby Eggplant
Ingredients
- 12 Indian baby eggplants (about 1 ½ pounds)
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 pc ginger, peeled and grated (about 1 inch of garlic)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- Kosher salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- Chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Mix together in a bowl the cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, and 2 tablespoons of oil.
- Cut the baby eggplants in quarters lengthwise, but stop about half an inch before you get to the stem. Pull the quarters open gently, but don’t detach the flesh from the stem.
- Season the eggplants with kosher salt and ensure that the inside flesh gets a proper coating.
- Heat three tablespoons of oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add in your eggplants in a single layer. Turn them frequently until they become golden brown. This should take 8-10 minutes.
- Lower the heat and add in ¼ cup of water. Cover the skillet and keep on cooking the eggplant for 12-16 minutes. Turn the eggplants halfway through cooking and let them continue to cook until they are tender.
- Place eggplants on a plate and top them with cilantro, chili powder and olive oil.
Sauteed Baby Eggplants
If you are looking for baby eggplant recipes easy enough for anyone to do, then simply sautéing them is the way to go.
You can cook the eggplants up in just a few minutes with minimal ingredients and then add them to another dish or two for your meal.
Sauteed Baby Eggplants
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby eggplants, cut in half and trimmed
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine)
- 1 ½ tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- Salt the eggplants by peeling back a strip of skin on the opposite side of the cut side. Allow the eggplants to drain on a rack over a baking pan for about 20 minutes.
- Rinse the eggplants and squeeze the moisture from them, then use a paper towel to pat them dry.
- Mix together the mirin and soy sauce in a bowl.
- Use a large skillet and heat oil on medium heat until it is hot but hasn’t started to smoke yet. Fry your eggplants with the peeled sides facing downwards. Keep cooking until the undersides have browned, which should take about 5 or six minutes.
- Turn the eggplants over and brush them with your sauce mixture.
- Keep frying the eggplants for 5 minutes, then add in the rest of your sauce mixture and cook for about two minutes. You should cook them until the liquid has been fully absorbed, and the eggplants will need to be turned once or twice in this period.
Sauteed baby eggplant recipes are a quick and simple way to make delicious eggplant dishes that can be added to rice, pasta, fish, noodles, and other dishes for a filling and tasty meal. These are recipes baby eggplant lovers will want to use over and over again.
I'm Pauline, a mother of four grown children, my passion for cooking stemmed from the joy i get cooking for my family. I love to try new dishes, especially when dining out but creating and sharing my own recipes is my favourite thing to do!
