Moussaka

 

I have a liking for Mediterranean food as they use a lot of similar Indian spices in their cooking. Their cuisine is world famous & I am sure you must have tried at least one Mediterranean dish in your life. I am planning to cook many of their recipes. I made Mousakka last week & it was a vegetarian version. I never thought that this dish would taste so good. I was not a big Brinjal fan & I eat them only when I make Bagara Baingan or Bartha, that is why I kept delaying making this dish. Finally I made it, as I had some friends visiting me & I wanted to make something different. The Brinjal is the life in this dish & it taste ultimate.

 

I am unlike most people who try to play safe when they plan a menu for guest. Most of the times I make a new dish when I have guest & 99% of the time it has worked great for me. My hubby had come home early on that day & as usual he was very hungry. I told him That I will serve Musakka & he had a big “?” on his face. When he tasted he was hmmmmmm….. kya hain ye? Amazing amazing…. That was enough for me to keep my head high & feel very confident about this dish. Well my hubby is a big critic of my food & if he says amazing then its really good. He doesn’t say amazing very often though & I wait to hear that from him every time. My guest also loved it & my friends hubby who is a big foodie took the recipe too. This dish is definitely on my appetiser list & will serve it more often to my new guests. So if you are my guest you know what to expect:) If you are bored making the very old Gobhi Manchurian , Mushrooms manchurian, kebabs for appetiser, try making this & leave your guests mesmerised.

 

 

Making time: 45 mins

Serves: 5 people

Baking safe dish

 

Ingredients:

• I big purple brinjal
• 3- 4 medium size potatoes
• 1 cup minced or grated Paneer
• 1.5 cup chopped White Button Mushrooms
• 1 Tbspn minced garlic
• 1 Tspn Kashmiri chili powder
• 1/2 tspn Coriander powder
• 1/4 tspn turmeric powder
• 2 Tbspn tomato Paste
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 Tbspn Lemon juice
• 1/4 tspn nutmeg powder
• 4 Tbspn grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tbspn Olive oil
• salt as per taste

Bechamel Sauce (White Sauce)

• 1 Tbspn plain flour
• 3 tbspn butter
• 1.5 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• salt as per taste
• Pinch of nutmeg powder

Direction:

1. Cut the Brinjal & potato into 1 inch thick circle shape. Soak the Brinjal in salt water for about 10 mins, drain water & set the Brinjal on Paper towel to dry out.
2. Pan fry the Brinjal on both sides until they are browned & set this aside in a plate. In the same pan, pan fry the potatoes on both sides until they are golden brown or cooked.
3. In a large Pan add oil, fry garlic for a minute. Now add in onions & fry until they are translucent.
4. To this add the tomato paste all the masalas, salt & fry them until fat separation for about 3 mins
5. Add the Mushrooms into this & saute for another 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Tip in the grated Paneer into the mushroom mixture & saute well until everything is well combined. Season it with lemon juice & turn off the flame.

Bechamel Sauce

1. Place the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and melt it completely, but do not let it brown.
2. Dump in the flour and stir it quickly into the butter. The butter and flour will be a mixture of wet scrambled eggs or might look lumpy.
3. Pour in just a few tablespoons of the hot milk, just enough to moisten the flour and butter mixture. Stir thoroughly to loosen up the thick flour mixture.
4. Now grab the whisk and gradually add the rest of the milk & cream to the loosened flour mixture, whisking constantly.
5. Now you will be left with a thick, warm, creamy mix of flour, butter, and milk. From here you can add salt and Nutmeg powder or even cheese.
6. (Note: There is quite a lot of room for adjustment in the quantity of milk. For a very thick, sticky béchamel use about 1 cup milk & 1/2 cup of cream. For a much looser, more liquid sauce, use more milk, to get the consistency you want)

Assembling

1. Layer the fried Brinjal on the bottom of the pan  & on top of them layer the potatoes.
2. Now add in the Mushroom Paneer mixture on top of the potatoes.
3. Pour in the Bechamel Sauce (white sauce) evenly on top of the mushroom mixture & sprinkle the top with grated cheese.
4. Bake this in a preheated oven at 220 degree for about 20- 25 mins.

Note:

• You can use any filling you want.Since my guests were vegetarians I used Mushroom & Paneer
• You can also add in cheese to your Bechamel sauce
• If you don't have an oven you can microwave this for about 2 mins until the bechamel sauce is set.
• You can make this dish ahead of time & freeze it. You can defrost & bake it just before serving.