Fried Eggplant with Roasted Garlic Yogurt Sauce
I’m fairly positive we’ve discussed my love of eggplant a million times before on the blog. With this dip, soup, and side dish.
So instead, can you indulge me while I get real and talk about other life things? Like wedding planning. And how I officially suck at it.
To be fair, I’m incredibly good at fake wedding planning. Like really, really brilliant at it. I have planned the most beautiful wedding…on Pinterest.
The reception is brimming with rununculas and candles, a million lightbulbs are hanging from the (imaginary) ceiling, and I’ve DIY-ed all of my party favors. Oh yeah, and my cake is homemade. Because I was feeling extra ambitious. I’m pretty sure this is why brides go crazy.
To preface you a bit, I was never the girl who started planning her wedding at the age of five. It was the furthest thing from my mind. Instead, I was the girl who preferred to play in the mud, was obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and took offense to anything too girly or frilly.
On the other hand, I am incredibly picky. Connor forced me to look at pictures of venues over the weekend, and I literally dismissed 75% of them with one word answers. Nope. Definitely not. Too hotel-y. Ugly carpet. Ugly windows. Too huge. Too small.
We’re totally screwed.
Wedding planning is not my forte. Can’t someone just do it all for me (for free, preferably) and I just show up? That sounds much more fun.
As you can see from today’s recipe, the stress of wedding planning (or realistically, the stress of thinking about wedding planning, because in all honesty, we’ve barely planned anything) is making me want to fry everything in sight. These eggplant rounds were my latest victim. This dish was inspired by one of my favorite Greek restaurants in DC. Eggplant rounds are lightly coated in flour, seasoned with cumin and turmeric, lightly fried in olive oil and served with a delicious roasted garlic yogurt sauce.
Dreamy, creamy, and oh so good.
Fried Eggplant with Roasted Garlic Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic Yogurt Sauce:
- 1 small head of garlic
- 1-2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- ยพ cup whole fat greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1-2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Eggplant:
- 1 large eggplant peeled and sliced into ยฝ-inch thick discs
- ยพ cup (90 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- ยพ teaspoon ground cumin
- ยฝ teaspoon ground turmeric
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil for frying
- cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Roast Garlic and Prepare Garlic Yogurt Sauce: Preheat oven to 400ยฐF (204ยฐC) with a rack in the center position. ย Peel the outer skin layer of the garlic bulb and trim the top of the head (about ยผ-inch) with a knifeย to expose the garlic cloves.
- Place the garlic in aluminum foil, drizzle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, salt and pepper and pinch the ends of the foil together, creating a tent.
- Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until garlic cloves are very tender and soft. ย Allow to cool until lukewarm (or comfortable enough to handle) and remove the roasted cloves into a small food processor. Add the yogurt and lemon juice to the food processor, and pulse until smooth. Place yogurt into a bowl and stir in the cilantro. ย Season with salt and pepper to taste. ย Set aside.
- Prepare Eggplant: Place eggplant rounds in a colander, sprinkle with kosher salt, and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes to sweat. Pat the slices dry with a kitchen line.
- Combine the flour, cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper in a small, shallow bowl. ย Set aside another small bowl of water.
- Heat ยผ-inch layer of olive oil in a large sautรฉ or frying pan over medium high heat. Lightly coat the eggplant rounds in the flour mixture, then dip into the water (dripping any excess liquid off), and dip again into the flour mixture. ย Fry until golden brown on both sides. ย Avoid over-crowding the pan and change oil as necessary.
- Remove and place on rack or paper towel lined plate. Salt immediately. Serve eggplant hot with roasted garlic yogurt sauce and garnish with fresh cilantro.
35 Comments on “Fried Eggplant with Roasted Garlic Yogurt Sauce”
@Connor. I’m in! A few stipulations: you have to pay me in Ninja Turtles merchandise, and everyone has to call me Sensei while I’m there.
Such a beautiful dish. I have an eggplant sitting in my fridge right now! I’ve got to try this.
I got inspired to make this because eggplant was on sale at the grocery store! ๐ Thanks Abby!
I LOVED (/still love) the Ninja Turtles. I suggest a Ninja Turtles themed reception. Pizza to eat, obvs. Bridesmaids dressed in red, blue, orange and purple. Prints of famous paintings by Donatello, Michaelangelo, Leonardo and Rafael. This thing plans itself! Turtle power!
Most amazing comment ever.
I think we should hire you as our wedding planner, you interested? It will be really easy, you have it all planed out already! ๐
I absolutely love eggplant!! that roasted garlic sauce is the perfect thing to pair them with – loves!
Thank you, thank you! ๐
My Middle Eastern ethnic background gives these a 10! Looks great.
Yay! ๐
I’ve been nervous to try eggplant since I didn’t really care for it when I was younger, but this recipe sounds great! I might have to give it a try ๐
http://www.simplyhsquared.com
Oh yes. I’m there. Right now. Thankfully one of my friends who is getting married suggested the venue we eventually chose, but I was super against anything that looked like someone might have at some point had a sweet 16 there. The.Boy’s mom is still trying to get us to have it at this super tacky place where the banisters are PAINTED GOLD and there are weird fake chandeliers everywhere, even though we’ve already put down a deposit. Sigh.
Once you find THE place though, you’ll be much more excited. Until you have to choose a caterer.
You can just pass me five plates of these.
Oh god. Luckily, there are no gold banisters in contention. We’re checking some places this weekend–and I secretly hope it’s a very, very easy and quick decision. So.much.left.to.do!!!
And yes, get the planning going, particularly the venue!
Oh yum! What can I say! Would like to have this right now! The sauce looks delicious! What would you serve with this?
Pinterest wasn’t around when I was planning my wedding so I totally want a re-do with pinterest haha! I love eggplant, this dish looks amazing!
I keep hearing that from people who are already married! Haha. It has been really helpful, but I’m worried it’s going to be a rude awakening when I realize I can’t do half of the stuff that I’ve seen or you know, I realize what I like costs a million dollars to pull off. Thanks Chelsea!
Your eggplant dish looks so perfect! Beautiful pics!
You’re so sweet! Thank you Cheri!
Haha! I was never that girl either and to be honest even as I get older I still give it like zero thought. LOL! But hey, planning it on pinterest is a good start!!
Love the eggplant and especially that yogurt sauce!!
Yep. That is me in a nutshell. Pinterest is pretty fun though, I have to say! ๐
I’ll plan it for you! Ha! Seriously though, I totally miss wedding planning, but I agree, a wedding planned in your head is MUCH easier than planning it in real life, hiring actual vendors, and putting ideas to paper. Good thing you’ve got yummy food to keep you going! Those eggplant look seriously scrumptious!
You shouldn’t have offered! I would gladly give you the task of planning the entire thing, haha. I actually have a lot of ideas and have a pretty good vision for it–I just dread the task of calling a million different vendors and organizing every last detail. You know? ๐
This reminds me of the eggplant and zucchini I had in turkey with garlic yogurt sauce. What happened to that St. Francis place?!
We’re going this weekend to check it out! Hopefully we like it!
Great flavor combinations! Love it. Hang in there ๐
Thanks Liz!!
Eggplant isn’t always attractive, but you really make it shine in this dish! Cute post. Wish I could help!
Yeah, I sort of struggled with these pictures, haha. Thanks so much Mimi!
LOL! I was bad at wedding planning too…only because I have a hard time making a decision and sticking to it. I wouldn’t have a hard time sticking to this eggplant though. I usually make mine with tomato sauce, so this is such a good change!
YES, I am horrible at that. I have a feeling I’ll have second thoughts about everything–plus once we pick the venue, I have no choice but to get my act in gear and plan everything else ๐ Thanks Steph!
These are totally beautiful – I normally don’t like eggplant, but these pictures and this recipe make it look delicious – I’m going to have to try!
Oh no!! I generally prefer to get Italian or graffiti eggplant over the big ones, but its all about the seed factor for me. Less seeds = tastier eggplant.
I am the worst at cooking eggplant. You are clearly a pro! These are gorgeous, Laura! Pinned
Aww, gee! I definitely have struggled with it, depending on the preparation. I like to sprinkle it with salt so that it doesn’t soak up quite as much oil ๐ Thanks for sharing, Averie!