God had a plan when he told me to write A to Z of fruits.Surprise Eggplant is a fruit.Yes really.Iam not making it up.Otherwise, I would have to say egg is the fruit of the chicken tree.AtoZ of fruits is making me discover some interesting facts.

Eggplant is a fruit and is commonly popular as brinjal in India.It is also called the aubergine.Unlike other fruits, it’s not sweet.The raw fruit is actually slightly bitter and hardly ever had as it is.It’s a fruit and called the king of vegetable .It is supposed to be a meat substitute in vegan and vegetarian  dishes, due to the richness of its taste.

My favourite eggplant dish

The beguni made with slightly thick slices of eggplant dipped in a gramme flour batter make monsoon evenings a  pleasure.Have it with a cup of gingery chai or at lunch with khichri.

Nutrition facts:

 Low in fat , protein, dietary fibres and is hardly a micronutrient storehouse.But it tastes delicious fried(begun bhaja ), smoked (begun pora), the north Indian baingan bharta or beguni(made into fritters with gram flour).The main drawback of this is It can soak in massive quantities of oil if not prepped properly before cooking.

Top tip to decrease  eggplant  fry from soaking in excess oil

This is why my air fryer has made frying brinjal less of a calorie horror.I just rub a mixture of salt haldi  , and a pinch of sugar. And keep it for some time then brush oil on either side of the piece of brinjal and air fry

Allergy eggplant and folklore

Allergies to eggplant are common.It’s especially common in those people with a history of atopy.You may have itchy sensation around the mouth and throat.The tongue may feel heavy and swollen.If you have any problem breathing you should visit  ER.

I avoid brinjals with too many seeds.Different parts of eggplant have a different type of allergens(chemicals causing allergies).Mostly localised in the peel/skin.The allergic reaction occurs due to the attraction of the eggplant allergen to IgE.

Symptoms include:

Skin rash .angioedema, wheezing, itchiness of lips around the mouth, and inside the oral cavity.Hoarseness of throat.Gastrointestinal discomfort Females may have more of a problem than men.

What to do if you have eggplant allergy?

Avoid having it. Food allergies, unfortunately, have no treatment

The folklore 

It belongs to a species of nightshade plant commonly known to have alkaloids as their constituents.Probably due to allergic reactions, there are folk stories around the eggplant

 13th-century Italian traditional folklore, the eggplant can cause insanity.

 Egypt, insanity was said to be “more common and more violent” when the eggplant is in season in the summer.

Sounds scary right?

But rest easy.No scientific research have linked this delicious side dish to insanity ..

Do you eat eggplant ?Tell me about your favourite eggplant dish in the comments below.