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Rice with Lemon Coconut and Eggplant

Cooked rice mixed with fried eggplant, toasted coconut, ground spices and a lemon-turmeric sauce, served at room temperature.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Coriander and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,498 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Rice with Lemon Coconut and Eggplant

Time3 minutes simmer for the lemon mixture

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the eggplant

  1. Place the eggplant into a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt.

  2. Mix well and allow to sit for half an hour, then rinse lightly and allow to drain.

Toast and grind the spices

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over a medium flame.

  2. Add the coriander seeds, split peas, cumin, and cinnamon. Stir well.

  3. When the spices have darkened, remove them and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.

  4. In the same pan, fry the coconut, stirring constantly.

  5. When it turns a golden-brown, remove and place on the paper towel.

  6. Put the dried spices into a mortar and grind into a fine powder.

  7. You'll find that a well-cleaned coffee grinder works well as a substitute.

Cook the eggplant and lemon mixture

  1. In another skillet, sauté the eggplant until it is cooked through. It should turn a bruised dark brown.

  2. Be careful not to add too much oil in the process.

  3. Remove, set aside, and keep warm.

  4. In a small pot, combine the lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt, turmeric, and 2 tablespoons water. Bring to a boil.

  5. Lower the heat and allow to simmer for 3 minutes.

Combine and serve

  1. In a skillet, add the cooked rice and the eggplant and sauté with very little oil. Mix well.

  2. Allow the mixture to cool.

  3. Add 2 more tablespoons of vegetable oil; mix well.

  4. Add the coconut-spice mixture and the lemon mixture.

  5. Mix well and serve at room temperature.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

740Calories
13 gProtein
42 gFat
83 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 12 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Coconut1/2 cup shredded (40g)283
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Eggplant1 cup cubed (82g)35
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Coriandernot in our table0
Seednot in our table0

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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

  1. Coriander + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,498 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Rice + coconuttop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,063 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Coriander + coconuttop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,039 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Rice + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,137 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

Long-grain rice
Forms the bulk of the dish and absorbs the oil and lemon flavours as it is tossed.
Eggplant
Provides soft, meaty texture and absorbs oil, becoming tender when sautéed until cooked through.
Coriander seeds
Contribute a warm, citrusy aroma that deepens when the seeds are toasted.
Dried unsweetened coconut
Adds nutty aroma and crisp texture when toasted to golden brown.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the dish and balances the spices.

The step that matters

Sautéing the eggplant until deeply browned. Eggplant soaks up oil quickly and can turn greasy or stay raw inside if the pan is crowded or too oily. Cooking it through over moderate heat softens its flesh and browns its surface, which builds savoury flavour.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, eggplant, coriander, pepper, cinnamon, coconut, lemon):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Cashew nutfits better
  3. Lentilsfits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, eggplant, coriander, pepper, cinnamon, coconut, lemon. 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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