INGREDIENTS:

Onion (finely chopped): 50 gm

Garlic (chopped): One clove

Sunflower oil: Four Tbsp

Tvp mince (natural flavour) soaked in coldwater for two to three hours: 100 gm

Tomato (skinned, deseeded and diced): 200 gm

Tomato puree: 50 gm

Oregano (for seasoning): One pinch

Vegetable stock: 500 ml

Yeast extract: Five gm

Arrowroot: 10 gm

Potatoes: 400 gm

Large aubergines: Two

Sunflower margarine and whole meal flour: 25 gm each

Skimmed milk: 250 ml

Parmesan cheese: 25 gm

Egg (yolk): One

Natural yoghurt: Two Tbsp

Parmesan cheese (grated): 50 gm

METHOD:

Cook the onion and garlic in sunflower oil until they get lightly coloured. Add the drained tvp. Add tomato concassse, tomato puree, oregano and season. Add vegetable stock to cover. Bring to boil, simmer for five minutes and add yeast extract. Stir well. Dilute arrowroot with a little water and gradually stir into the tvp. Bring it back to boil and simmer for two minutes. Cook the potatoes with the skins on, by steaming or boiling. Peel and slice into 1/2 cm slices. Slice the aubergines into 1/2 cm slices, pass through whole meal flour, shallow fry it in sunflower oil on both sides until it turns golden brown. Now drain it with kitchen paper.

In a suitable oven proof dish arrange layers of tvp mixture and overlapping slices of potato and aubergines. Pour the chess sauce on top, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190 C for approximately 30 minutes. Serve the dish hot.

Chef S. Chakravarthy is the Executive Chef of Hotel Royal Court in Madurai. With more than 25 years of culinary experience, he specialises in Continental cuisine. When free, he loves to research on new recipes.