Baby Eggplant Curry (GF, Vegan)
This is a luxury curry. It is has a rich masala and is full of layers of spice and taste. Mr B and I tried it at our favourite Indian restaurant and he asked me to make it. This proves how far we have come, as Mr B was a firm ‘food is for fuel’ man before he met me and certainly didn’t ask me to cook savoury dishes, never mind Indian ones
The thing about Indian food that we like is that it can taste really bad for you, given the richness of the sauce, but when you make it from scratch and see the actual ingredients, you realise that they are all good for you and that the spices are actual medicinal in nature
Ingredients
For the curry paste
- ¼ cup peanuts
- 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
- ¼ cup grated coconut
For the dish
- 8 baby eggplants
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- 1-2 tbsp. blended garlic
- 1-2 tbsp. blended ginger
- 1 tsp. tamarind paste
- 2-3 tbsp. oil
- ¼ tsp. mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp. cumin seeds
- Pinch of hing
- 1-2 tsp. chilli powder
- ½ tsp. turmeric powder
- ½ tsp. coriander powder
- Salt to taste
- Chopped coriander leaves
Method
- Wash the baby eggplants, slit across the top, leaving the stem in
- Heat two tablespoons of oil and shallow fry the baby eggplants until tender and soft. Once done remove and keep aside
- Dry roast the peanuts, sesame seeds for a few minutes
- Place in a blender with the coconut and blender to make a paste (add a little water if needed)
- In the same pan as that which you fried the eggplant, add the last tablespoon of oil, add mustard seeds, cumin and hing. Add onions and fry till transparent
- Add the ginger, garlic and mix well
- Add the grounded paste, red chilli powder, coriander and turmeric powder
- Add ¼ cup water and bring to the boil
- Add the tamarind paste and salt
- Mix in the eggplants
- Mix it well with the masala and cover with a lid
- Allow to cook for 10-15 minutes on a medium flame
- Garnish with coriander and serve with rice or roti
