To Eat At Someone Else's Table: Maryam's Dahi Baingan
My nineth guest of To Eat at Someone Else’s Table is Maryam of Pakistan Eats! I met Maryam a few years back at a Pineapple Collaborative event in DC where she cooked the most beautiful Pakistani Dinner, graciously sharing with us food from her heritage. The night was so wonderful - the food was thoughtfully prepared and absolutely delicious, and the company was even better. This dinner was in the early stages of Maryam’s journey with Pakistan Eats, and it’s been such a joy watching her blog grow since then!
Learn more about Maryam, her connection to food, and her Dahi Baingan (eggplant in savory yogurt) in her interview below!
Interview with Maryam
Tell us about yourself!
“Hi! I am an international educator that grew up in Islamabad, studied in Lahore, and immigrated to the United States in 2008. While I was not much of a cook growing up, homesickness in Washington D.C. and the realization that there was a dearth of tested Pakistani recipes on the Internet, I started the blog, Pakistan Eats. It’s a tribute to Pakistani food that has been a bridge between my heritage, family, and adopted homes (United States, Mexico and now, Cambodia).
Since then, Pakistan Eats has been a finalist for the Saveur Blog Awards Best New Voice and in 2018, won the Saveur Editors’ Choice for Best Food Culture. In 2017, I also served as TASTE’s first Cook In Residence where I wrote about Pakistani food and culture, and reported on Juarez, Mexico’s changing culinary landscape.
While my day job continues to be in international education (I currently work as the Education Specialist at UNESCO’s Cambodia office), I try to find time to regularly explore and report on Pakistani food culture – such as writing about the changing Pakistani culinary landscape or Pakistani pantry staples such as Shan Masala.”
Tell us about this dish. What is it & where do its origins lay?
“Dahi baingan or baingan ka raita is an incredibly simple dish that lies at the border of the condiment/side category. Its fried eggplant folded in savory yogurt. We would frequently have it as a side with some variation of pulao or pilaf. But the more I prepared it in the US, the more I appreciated its versatility. I found it works well as both a salad dressing or a dipping sauce (if you strain the yogurt a bit). I’m not a 100% certain of its origins. My guess is that it has its roots as borani, an Iranian yogurt-based appetizer that is found in Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey as well as the Caucasus.”
Do you have a special memory associated with this dish? Why is this dish special to you?
“The dish is special in two ways. Firstly, it has strong nostalgic value. It brings me to the table of my paternal grandmother, Mommy who played a big role in my childhood. She would only live a few blocks from our house and we would dine at her place frequently. She always had guests, and therefore, her dinner table was always full. Dahi baingan was definitely a staple, and I remember it enhancing the taste of everything it accompanied.
The second reason this dish is special is that it was one of the first things I learned to cook because of how easy it is! So now, it also brings me back to my early days in the US as a graduate student in Ithaca where I first started experimenting in the kitchen.”
What inspires you to cook and/or bake?
“I found cooking Pakistani food as one of the most meaningful bridges between my heritage, family and new home(s). It’s served as a really important anchor as I move from place to place. I have learned to adapt my cooking based on the ingredients and facilities available to me while still trying to remain true to the dishes’ original flavor. It’s the beauty of diasporic cooking, and I feel fortunate when other South Asians abroad feel empowered to experiment with ingredients and techniques to create traditional dishes because of my blog and writing.”
What’s your favorite spice to cook with and why?
“This may sound obvious and a little boring to some but definitely whole cumin seeds, closely followed by coriander seeds. Cumin and coriander, in my eyes, are the foundation of the food I grew up eating. I love whole cumin seeds because of their incredibly pronounced earthy and warm flavor. I love how it announces itself in every dish. Coriander seeds are obviously softer than cumin but I find they bring a lovely herbal, citrusy element to everything.”
Why are you passionate about cooking?
“In addition to the fact that cooking has served as an anchor for me as I move from place to place, as I went deeper into food writing I also learned that food reporting provided me with very fresh insights into the way I look at culture, politics, economy and society at-large. Food has allowed me to have some of the most meaningful conversations of my life in the last few years, and really helped deepen my understanding of the places I have found myself in.”
Recipe - Maryam’s Dahi Baingan
Ingredients:
14 oz eggplant thinly sliced crosswise
4 cups full fat yogurt
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp red chili pepper
1/2 cup oil [canola/vegetable/sunflower]
Directions:
Heat a saucepan. Add oil. Once it begins to shimmer, add slices of eggplant in batches. Make sure you don't overcrowd the pan.
Fry each side on medium-low heat till it's golden brown. The exact time will depend on your pan. I was using a non-stick pan, and it each side was taking about 2 minutes.
Place fried eggplant on paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Meanwhile, get the yogurt ready. Whip the yogurt till it has an even consistency. Add salt to taste.
Gently fold the fried eggplant into the yogurt. Dust off with red chili powder.