Can you recount the story from Shirdi involving eggplants, a mashed dish, and fried slices?

Certainly. Chapter 9 describes an incident involving the Purandare family and another lady devotee. This lady gave some eggplants (vangi) to the Purandare family, asking them to prepare two dishes for Baba: a mashed dish (bharit) and fried slices (kachrya). The family prepared the bharit and offered it to Baba at mealtime. After tasting the delicious bharit, Baba specifically asked for the kachrya. This caused a stir because eggplants were out of season. A search led them back to the devotee who had brought the bharit, and everyone then understood the significance of Baba's request and his deep connection to his devotees' offerings.