The eggplant (Solanum melongena), known as aubergine or brinjal, is the glossy, deep-purple fruit of a nightshade grown and eaten as a vegetable. Its spongy, pale flesh is bland and faintly bitter raw, but turns silky, savoury and almost meaty once roasted, grilled or fried — a sponge for oil and smoke across the cuisines of the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Asia.