I have not gotten lost in the world, I am still right here, right where I left off and you left me.

Life has just kicked me in the ass and showed me who is boss. I have been quietly, trying to plod along and keep my head above the surface of the water.

Almost a month after Diwali and prayer baking, I am still far from walking into the kitchen and seeing a counter that isn’t covered in some form of a leaning tower of dishes.

My dad has this ability to create a mess when he wants to dish up or pack food away and when I see his disaster, I just turn on my heels and go to bed. It is just too tiring. The other night while I was packing the groceries away, I came across bits and pieces of left-over ingredients that I had bought for Diwali and had completely forgotten.

My shopping trips of late is just essential stuff and I am trying to not let panic creep in with all these new variants and a possible higher lockdown level loaming. I am over lockdown, I am over Covid. Covid, like the flu, chickenpox and measles are now a part of life, time to move on please.

Enough about this doom and gloom, back to the food.

I have had Adele Maartens, “My Vegetarian braai,” in my collection for ever. I don’t know exactly why I bought it seeing as we are not a braaing family. We last braaied 3 years ago for Diwali and that braai stand is still standing in the corner of the yard waiting to be cleaned.

I do not have the stomach to go near it, I will just let the weeds take over it and before you know it, it will be one of a kind garden ornament. Clever don’t you think.

Anyway, I was going to make my dad’s puli curry, when my mother spotted the brinjal and told me straight that she doesn’t want brinjal in the puli curry and then she egged my dad on and suddenly everyone in the house was anti brinjal.

So there it was just hiding out in the back of the fridge, when I came across a recipe on how to braai it. The picture of the dish caught my eye and even before reading the list of ingredients, I knew come hell or high water I was going to make this dish, and my parents would be eating it whether they liked it or not.

I adapted the recipe the be able to be made on a stove top and not on a braai. With a grill plate there really is no need to have a braai at all. The grill plate does the same when it comes to charring.

The verdict, I loved the dish, I love anything with tahini, my mother was like she will eat it, but she will complain every bite and every swallow and make sure that I understand that she is not a brinjal fan. My father’s verdict. He took a bite and then a swig of water to ensure that the brinjal would go down without a fight. My parents and their tricks. I give up, I am not going to feed them if they always complaining. They don’t complain when they go to a restaurant, so why are they complaining about my food and I mean I am not even giving them a bill at the end of the meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 x large brinjals, pierced several times with a fork.
• Salt and pepper to season.
• Freshly chopped parsley and sesame seeds for garnishing.

Ingredients for the tahini dressing:

• 1/3 x cup tahini.
• 1/3 x cup water.
• 3 x tbsp olive oil.
• 2 x tbsp lemon juice.
• 1 x tsp dried chilli flakes.
• 1 x tsp sumac.
• 1 x clove garlic, crushed.

Method:

• In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
• Slowly grill the brinjals over a low heat on the stove top till the skin is charred but make sure not to burn the skin.
• Remove from the stove and slice each brinjal in half.
• Place on a plate.
• Generously pour over the dressing.
• Garnish with the parsley and sesame seed before serving.