Roast the eggplant in a 400-degree oven for an hour (stab it first with a fork). A half hour or twenty minutes before you anticipate the eggplant will be done, pop the mustard seeds in a medium sized saucepan, then add lentils, water and spices. Bring to a boil and gently simmer until the eggplant is finished cooking, then remove eggplant from oven, slit open, scoop out innards, chop them coarsely and add to lentils. Cook another 5-10 minutes to blend all the flavors. This would probably make a respectable soup if it were thinned out with more water and broth, but I served it over...

> Kirsten, your recipe for eggplant dal sounds delicious, but would you explain > how to "pop" mustard seeds? Also, you call for black mustard seed ~ how is > that different in flavor from regular mustard seed? Do you find them at your > Hfs, or do normal grocery stores carry them? > I pop the seeds by putting them in a heavy wok with a lid. I spray a little bit of Pam first. The brown or black mustard seeds can usually be gotten at a Hfs or an Indian grocery store. These are the only kinds of seeds I have ever tasted so I can't comment on whether the flavor is different but they add substantially to the flavor of an Indian type dish.

Kirstin Reade Wilcox <krw3@columbia.edu>