Benjamin's Mom's Recipe for Batu Moju (pronounced mahjew) Eggplant dish from the first night in Kandy

250g eggplant - cut into small strips

½ red onions - cut into cubes

10 green chilies - cut it from the middle (optional)

2 - 3 cloves of garlic

2.5cm x 1 piece of ginger

8 - 10 curry leaves

1 tablespoon coriander power

1 ½ mustard seeds

1-2 Tbs Vinegar

2 - 3 teaspoons Sugar

Oil to fry

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan in medium heat. When oil was ready, deep fry the eggplant strips till it gets little bit dark brown in color on both sides. Drain it on a paper or kitchen tissues to remove excess oil. Now add onions & green chilies and fry it for nearly 5 - 10 minutes & Drain it on a paper or kitchen tissues to remove excess oil.

Finally fry the dried sprats till you get a nice golden color and Drain it on a paper or kitchen tissues to remove excess oil. Now with the help of a blender or a mortar and pestle (Wangediya) minced the ginger and garlic. When you get a fine paste now add mustard into the ginger garlic paste and minced it till the mustard seeds vanished . You will get a fine paste of ginger, garlic & mustard. Now place the paste in a small bowl, and add coriander power, sugar, salt and vinegar and stir the mixture till sugar was dissolve.

SERVING:

You can have this eggplant salad with any kind of rice, noodles or even with any kind of bread.

NOTE:

Amount of sugar was depending on the amount of vinegar. Mix together paste eggplant onions, add some curry leaves, stick of cinnamon. Possible Maldives fish. If consumed day of you can add fresh tomatoes. Tastes even better the second day. Use the purple white eggplant.