Comforting Eggplant Dish

**There are many ways to serve ingredients. Choose the one that is comfortable for your tongue and stomach.**  Do you like eggplant? I know there are many people out there who don't like eggplant. So are some of my family members who don't really like this type of vegetable. When cooked, eggplant will change texture to become very soft. In addition, the texture of the seeds in the eggplant adds a strange texture for some people who don't like it.  Meanwhile, it's a different story for me since I was little, eggplant has had many stories and sweet memories in my life. Especially about my late mother who often cooked eggplant for our family. Of course, my favorite is spicy eggplant. There is another menu that is very comforting in my life that I think I have also often shared on the Hive Blog.  But this time I serve the comforting eggplant menu with a combination of chayote. Also, I try to cook this menu healthier. Well, because I use coconut milk, here I only add coconut milk just before the dish is removed from the heat. This aims to avoid the high cholesterol content that comes from coconut milk that is cooked until boiling.  For the eggplant type, this time I used the round eggplant type. In my country, round eggplant is popular for cooking with coconut milk because it will make the texture feel soft and creamy. Unlike the long purple eggplant which is more suitable for stir-frying or grilling. Round eggplant with a combination of green and a little purple. Suitable for creamy dishes such as with coconut milk. If you don't have a round eggplant like this, then blue eggplant can also be used in this recipe. In this recipe, I also use turmeric, but feel free to skip this turmeric ingredient. Turmeric does not affect the taste, but it is very beneficial in terms of health for anti-inflammation if we mix turmeric in cooking. --- ## THE INGREDIENTS  - 2 medium-sized round eggplants - 2 small chayotes - 100 ml of coconut milk (using ready-to-drink coconut milk) - 3 kaffir lime leaves - 3 bay leaves  *Grinded spices* - 3 cloves of garlic - 3 cloves of shallots - 3 candlenuts - 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon of salt - 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper - 1/2 teaspoon of sugar --- ## COOKING INSTRUCTIONS #### STEP 1  Prepare the chayotes. Here, I don't peel the chayotes because their skin is edible. Just clean the chayote skin well, then cut them into two parts. Rub them against each other so that their sap comes out. ---  Deseed the chayote, then cut them into small pieces. Also, cut the eggplant into pieces. Here I make round slices on the eggplant but make thick slices so that later the eggplant slices don't fall apart when cooked together with the chayote. --- #### STEP 2  Blend the ingredients for the fine spices: garlic, shallots, and candlenuts. Puree with 1/2 cup of water. --- #### STEP 3  In a cooking pot, add the fine spices, with ground turmeric, ground pepper, also with bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, along with other complementary spices: salt, and sugar. ---  Use medium heat, then stir well until they come to a simmer. --- ### STEP 4  Add eggplant pieces and chayote pieces. Stir well. ---   Then, add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water depending on your taste. Cook for 5 minutes until eggplant and chayote are cooked. --- ### STEP 5  Just before they are removed, add ready-to-drink coconut milk. Then, stir well, and remove from heat. Do not let the coconut milk simmer or even boil.  --- ---- --- ## SERVED  A comfortable creamy eggplant dish is ready to be served with other accompaniments. This side dish is perfect to complement steamed rice, also baked potatoes, even mashed potatoes.  Look at the texture of the eggplant. It becomes soft and creamy. Plus the fresh and slightly sweet chayote. I hope you have some inspiration for a delicious and easy-to-make side dish! Have a great day, foodies!  --- >Best Regards, Anggrek Lestari ---