Roasted eggplant raita

This raita is for those who love bold, spicy and pungent flavors. The taste will linger in your mouth even after you have finished eating it. It can be adjusted easily to make it more palatable for those who cannot take the heat by reducing or omitting the green chillies and mustard oil. But that is what makes it so flavorful and delicious. It has to be eaten as a raita or can be used as a dip with pita bread, used in a sandwich with falafel.

Ingredients

1 medium sized eggplant

1 small red onion

1 tomato

3-4 green chillies

1 lemon

2-3 cloves garlic

bunch of cilantro 

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

2 tsp roasted cumin powder

2 cups yogurt

1 tbsp mustard oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

black salt and chaat masala (optional)

salt to taste

Method

Roast the eggplant till the outer skin is completely charred. Remove the skin and mash the eggplant. Chop the onion, green chillies, garlic and tomatoes in a food processor and mix with the eggplant. Add juice of half a lemon, chopped cilantro leaves, salt, red chilli powder and mix well. Beat the yogurt with a little salt and mix it in. Drizzle the mustard oil over it and sprinkle with roasted cumin powder, chaat masala and black salt.
Instead of raw mustard oil a tempering of heated oil and cumin seeds can also be poured over the raita.