Gbanga Spiced Aubergines (with yoghurt dip)

Gbanga Spiced Aubergines (with yoghurt dip)

How many things can you currently do with an aubergine? Whatever your number is, with this recipe, you have +1. Coated and cooked in gbanga spice, this is admittedly a wild notion, but one that works and is nonetheless delicious. The spice is then tamed by the wonderful creaminess of the prawns and dip. Gbanga spice is often used to season soups like Gbanga or Abenkwan. A really lovely dish of contrasts, and a standing ovation for the range our traditional spices have, even beyond our local context.

 

Ingredients

8 aubergines (eggplant)

5 teaspoons gbanga spice

½ cup olive oil

400g small shrimps, cleaned

1 small piece, ginger, sliced

2 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dill or caraway seeds

3 tbsp plain yoghurt/sour cream

Squeeze of lime

Salt to taste

I small bunch dill

 

Method

  1. Slice the aubergines lengthways and rub down well with salt and a splash of olive oil. 
  2. Sprinkle generously with gbanga spice and sear face down on a hot griddle pan, until char lines appear. Allow to cook through in the pan or you can get the char lines first and and finish off cooking in the oven if you prefer. 
  3. Arrange the aubergines on a nice platter. 
  4. Bring a small pot of water to the boil, and season it with salt, caraway seeds, garlic, ginger and pepper. Keep it boiling on high and put the shrimps in to flash boil. 
  5. Remove them after a minute or two and place them on the platter with the aubergines. 
  6. Finally, combine the yoghurt (or sour cream) with the remaining olive oil, a squeeze of lime and some salt and pepper to make a creamy dressing. Drizzle the dressing over the aubergines and prawns just before serving. 

 

 

This recipe is from Season 1 Episode 9 of Minjiba Entertains, commissioned by The Africa Channel and showing on RealTime DSTV Channel 155, Emirates in-Flight Entertainment, Amazon Prime, and Demand Africa. 

Follow:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *