Aubergine, the King of Vegetables

The Egg plant, or aubergine is called in Brinjal in India. It is considered to be the king of vegetables because it wears a crown!Belonging to the same family as the potato and the tomato, the Solanum melongena was first domesticated in India. It was introduced to Europe by the Arabs who monopolised the spice trade with India. It is called the Egg plant in some parts of the world because some of its fruit are egg shaped.

Many varieties of the Aubergine are cultivatd in India, ranging from deep purple to white.I grow the two pale varieties shown above. The aubergine I like best is the huge, dark purple one grown in North India during winter. You can roast it in fire, peel it and add some onions and tomatoes and green chillies to make a dish called Baigan Bharta.

The long green brinjal is famous in these parts for its taste. It has white flowers.The white egg-shaped egg plant is called 'black brinjal', because its leaves have black veins. The flowers are purple.

The whole plant of the aubergine is used in Chinese medicine to stop intestinal bleeding.