Baked aubergine steaks filled with paneer and roasted sesame, tomato chutney, and roasted garlic raita

Contemporary Indian food has exploded both in India and abroad, especially in London and New York. These are once-traditional dishes that have been reimagined or completely new dishes have been created. They play with traditional Indian spices and flavours but differ in their presentation and conceptualization. I enjoy this change and evolution of food, while many prefer the old versions and ask that they are not changed. Throughout history, we have seen an evolution of Indian food, the advent of tomatoes, the onion-based curries from Mughal cooking and the introduction of paneer. Once unknown, these now dominate the Indian culinary table.

This lovely dish uses two classics: paneer and eggplant. It is complex to make, but the results are fabulous. The eggplant-paneer steaks are smothered in a tomato chutney that adds pop and all the flavours. This dish tells your vegetarian guests that they are special.

Vineet Bhatia moved to London in 1993 with little more than a suitcase full of books, a lofty ambition, his love of Indian cuisine and a passion for cooking. Fast-forward a few years, and Vineet is now a globally renowned chef and seen as the face of progressive modern Indian cuisine, having published successful cookery books, recorded multiple TV series, opened several restaurants across the globe and is the first Indian chef-patron to have been awarded a Michelin star. This is a very contemporary Indian cookbook filled with fantastic recipes. Most recipes tend to be complex, but occasionally, there will be simpler ones, like this one. However, the recipes are wonderful, packed with flavour and beautifully balanced.

For more recipes from this amazing cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the steak filling:

1/2 lb potatoes

6 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 lb paneer, finely diced

1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted

1 green chilli, minced, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

2 tablespoons cilantro, minced

Salt, to taste

For the aubergines:

2 large globe aubergines

Vegetable oil

All-purpose flour for dusting

For the tomato chutney:

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 green chilli, chopped

10 curry leaves

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

A pinch of asafoetida

1/4 lb tomatoes, finely diced

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt, to taste

1 tablespoon cilantro. chopped

Water, as needed

For the roasted garlic and cumin raita:

7-9 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon oil

1 cup Greek yoghurt

1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

A pinch of sugar

Salt, to taste

To make the filling:

Peel and cube the potatoes. Add to a pot with the water and salt and bring to a boil. Simmer for 25-30 minutes till the potatoes are soft and can be mashed easily. Drain and mash well.

Add the rest of the ingredients for the filling and mix well. Taste for salt and spice. Set aside.

To make the tomato chutney: Heat the oil on a low flame and add the mustard seeds. They will pop in 20 seconds. Add the ginger, green chilli, and curry leaves and fry for 1 minute until the ginger no longer smells raw.

Add the chilli powder and asafoetida and mix well. Add the tomatoes, salt, and cilantro and turn the heat up to medium. Cover and cook for 20 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and formed a sauce. Be careful not to burn the sauce; add as much water as you think necessary. Taste for salt and spice.

Cool the sauce and purée it in a small blender purèe until smooth. Add it back to the pan and cook until thick, with the oil pooling in small bubbles on top. Set aside.

To make the roasted garlic and cumin raita:

Heat the oven to 375° F.

Toss the garlic cloves in the oil. Lay them on a lined baking sheet and roast until they are caramelized and golden. Cool and mash with a fork to a smooth paste.

Mix the garlic with the rest of the ingredients. Taste for salt. Store in the fridge until needed.

To make the steaks: Cut the eggplants into horizontal circles about 1/3 inch thick. Cit out the centre of the eggplant about 1/4-1/2- inch from the skin. Keep the meat for another recipe.

Lay the eggplant slices on a baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with all-purpose flour. Fill the centre with the potato-paneer mash, making sure it is well packed in. Drizzle generously with oil.

Heat the oven to 300°F.

Bake the eggplant steaks for 20-25 minutes till the eggplant is very tender and the tops of the paneer mash are lightly browned.

To serve: Heat the tomato chutney and streak onto a flat platter. Layer the baked eggplant steaks on top and dot with the roasted garlic raita. Serve immediately with extra chutney and raita on the side.