Baby eggplants cooked in a peanut-coconut curry. [Vegan]

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: Not specified
  • Cook time: Not specified
  • Total time: Not specified
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Recipes
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 6 baby eggplants
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 onion (small, chopped fine)
  • 1.25 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon onion seeds [kalonji]
  • ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • 2 green chili (chopped)
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder
  • ½ teaspoon paprika powder
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon tamarind pulp
  • water
  • salt (to taste)
  • coriander leaves (to garnish)

To be roasted and grind to a fine paste

  • 4 tablespoons peanuts
  • 3 tablespoons coconut [use fresh for best result]
  • 2 teaspoons sesame seeds [till]
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds [khus khus]

Method

Make the paste

  1. In a pan dry roast coconut, peanuts, sesame seeds and poppy seeds (khus khus).
  2. Roast for 5-6 minutes till you get a nice aroma and then transfer to a blender.
  3. Add little water [if required] and blend it to a fine paste. Set aside.

Curry

  1. In a pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat.
  2. Add the eggplants and cook on medium heat till eggplants are little soft, around 10-12 minutes. Remember you don't want them to be too soft.
  3. Remove the eggplants from pan and place on a kitchen towel.
  4. In the same pan add 1 tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot add mustard seeds and let them crackle. Then add onion seeds and fennel seeds.
  5. Add chopped green chilli and curry leaves and mix.
  6. Add chopped onions and cook till they are translucent. Then add ginger-garlic paste and cook till the raw smell goes away, around 2-3 minutes.
  7. Once the ginger-garlic is cooked, add the dry spices - cumin powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder. Also add the salt and mix.
  8. Cook the spices for 2-3 minutes, add around 1/2 cup of water to make sure spices don't burn.
  9. Now add the coconut-peanut paste to the pan.
  10. Add turmeric powder and paprika powder and cook the paste for 5-6 minutes on medium-low flame.
  11. Add the fried eggplants to the masala and mix.
  12. Now add 2 cups of water, cover and cook the curry on medium-low flame for 15-20 minutes.
  13. Add garam masala, tamarind pulp, sugar and mix.
  14. Switch off the flame, add some fresh coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.