Name: Spicy Eggplant Salad
Ingredients: 3 med Eggplants; 2 1/2 tsp Coarse (kosher salt); 1/4 cup Corn oil; 1 1/2 cup Tomato sauce; 1/4 tsp Pepper; 1 tsp Hot red chili flakes, or minced fresh chiles; 2 tsp Ground cinnamon; 1 tbl Crushed dried mint

Why it works: Eggplant and tomato work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 651 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Spicy Eggplant Salad

Time15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the eggplant

Slice the eggplants crosswise into 1 ½-inch thick pieces.
Sprinkle them with 2 teaspoons coarse salt and let stand for 15 minutes.
Rinse eggplants under cold water to remove bitter taste, then dry well on a towel.
Heat the oil in a skillet and lightly brown eggplant slices over moderate heat for 3 minutes.
Remove and put into a serving bowl. Cool.

Make the sauce and assemble

Put the tomato sauce, pepper, chile, cinnamon, mint and ½ teaspoon salt, if wanted, in a pan.
Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, which is long enough to integrate the flavors.
Pour this over the eggplant; refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve

The salad can remain in the refrigerator for several days.
Serve cold or at room temperature.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

156Calories

6 gProtein

2 gFat

36 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Corn Oil	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Eggplant	1 cup cubed (82g)	35
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Mint	2 tbsp fresh (3g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Eggplant + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together651 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Eggplant + cinnamontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together62 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Corn + tomatotop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,099 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Eggplant + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,123 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggplants: Form the bulk of the salad and soften into a tender texture when browned and chilled.
Corn oil: Conducts heat for browning the eggplant slices and adds richness.
Tomato sauce: Provides the liquid base and moisture that carries the seasonings through the salad.
Hot red chili flakes: Adds heat and pungency to the sauce.
Ground cinnamon: Contributes warm, aromatic sweetness to the sauce.
Crushed dried mint: Adds herbal aroma that stands out after the sauce has simmered.

The step that matters

Rinse and dry the salted eggplant. Salting draws out moisture and bitter compounds. Rinsing removes the surface salt and bitterness, and thorough drying lets the slices brown rather than steam in the hot oil.

Swap the mint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (eggplant, corn, tomato, sauce, pepper, cinnamon):

Cuminfits better
Oreganofits better
Basilfits better
Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against eggplant, corn, tomato, sauce, pepper, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Spicy Eggplant Salad