Greek Recipes

Greek and Cypriot recipes

Melitzanes Tiganites: Batter-Fried Eggplant

In Greek: μελιτζάνες τηγανητές, pronounced meh-leed-ZAH-nes tee-ghah-nee-TES

Eggplant is notorious for absorbing as much olive oil as possible, so this recipe for a light and crispy appetizer or side dish, which calls for quick frying in hot oil, is a good choice since the eggplant doesn’t have enough time to get soggy with oil. Use a cheese slicer, mandoline, or long-bladed knife to get uniformly thin slices.

Batter-fried eggplant

Batter-fried eggplant

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium eggplant, trimmed, unpeeled, sliced into strips 1/8 to 3/16-inch thick
  • olive oil for frying
  • 1/2 tablespoon of sea salt
  • .
  • FOR THE BATTER
  • 8 ounces of bottled soda water
  • 1 teaspoon of sea salt
  • 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour

Preparation:

Prepare eggplant: Put slices in a bowl, salt, and let sit 20-25 minutes. Pour off liquid before dipping in batter.

Make the batter: Pour the soda into a bowl, and stir in flour and salt slowly, using a whisk or fork to mix.

Fry: Bring oil to high heat. Coat eggplant in the batter, use a fork to place pieces in oil and fry 5-6 minutes, until golden on both sides and batter puffs up. Drain on absorbent paper toweling just long enough to remove excess oil.

Serve hot.

Yield: serves 4 as a side dish, 6-8 as an appetizer/meze.

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