Eggplant Parmesan with Spaghetti

Eggplant Parmigiana or Eggplant parmesan is one of mine and my husband's favorites in the Italian cuisine.
I looked for it's recipe all over the internet and tried to make this at home for the first time. I  know it did not turn out to be the perfect one, nevertheless, it was not bad for the first time. As they say, " Practice makes Perfect" , I shall get there one day. :)

I thought I should share this experience of mine with you all, so here I am with the recipe I tried.

Ingredients:

• Eggplant ( the big one ) -1
• Salt - 1 tbsp
• Grated Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup
• Grated Mozzarella cheese - 1 cup
• Bread Crumbs - 2 cups 
• Eggs - 2
• All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
• Olive Oil - 3 -4 tbsp
• Spaghetti Sauce - 2 cups
• Chili Flakes and Oregano - for serving
• Spaghetti - 1 packet

Directions:

• Slice the eggplant in 1/4th inch thickness. You could either slice it into circles or lengthwise. (1. in pic )
• Sprinkle salt all over the slices of the eggplant and put them into a colander. (2.in pic )
• Rest it for 30 minutes so that most of the moisture is extracted from the eggplant.( 3.in pic )
• Remove the slices from the colander and place them on a paper towel. Take another sheet and place on top of the slices and press them gently to blot off all the moisture. ( 4. in pic )

• Now we have to prepare for the coating. Beat the egg and keep it ready. Also keep the bread crumbs spread in a plate.

• In a mixing bowl, sprinkle the all purpose flour all over the eggplant slices and toss them so that they are coated from both the sides. This is just a time saver. You can also coat them one by one from both the sides.

• Now, take one by one and dust the excess flour, and dip it the beaten egg. Turn it around so that it is coated from both the sides.

• Now roll that slice into the bread crumbs. Turn it over and coat the other side as well.

• Repeat this process with all other slices and keep them on a plate. They are now ready for frying.

• In a pan, heat oil and shallow fry these slices till golden brown from both the sides. 

•  Remove them on paper towel to drain off the excess oil. Shallow fry the next batch as well.

• We now have to assemble the eggplants in a baking dish for baking.
• Spread the spaghetti sauce in the baking dish. I used the store bought  sauce. 
• Arrange the eggplant slices on top of this layer without overlapping. Little bit of overlapping is fine.

• Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese all over.

• And then the parmesan cheese. 

• Preheat the over on 425°F and bake for 15 minutes or till the cheese melts and the sauce is bubbly.

• It's ready. You can eat it like this with a little seasoning of your choice. Or You can eat it along with some spaghetti. 
• Cook the spaghetti like directed on the packet. 
• In a serving plate, lay a bed of cooked spaghetti, topped with some spaghetti sauce and en eggplant parmesan. sprinkle some extra cheese and some chili flakes and oregano or any other seasoning of your choice.

Enjoy :) It's worth the effort !!