Indian Eggplant Curry

Brinjal bhaji – eggplant curry seasoned with Indian spices.
We recommend serving with rice or bread!

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons black cumin seeds
2-3 cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
1 finely chopped green chili pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon turmeric
3 medium tomatoes, chopped (or 6 small ones)
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1/4 (60 ml) glass of water
Half a lime (juice squeezed)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 °C. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and score the flesh in several places. Just don’t cut through the skin, as it will be difficult to scoop out the flesh later.
2. Brush the cut side with ½ tablespoon of oil, sprinkle with salt and ground pepper. Place the eggplant halves cut side down on a baking sheet (line with baking paper if necessary). Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan (or wok) over medium heat. Add the cumin and black cumin seeds and fry until fragrant (about 2 minutes).
4. Add the ginger and chilli to the pan and fry for a further 2 minutes. Then add the onion and garlic. Continue to fry until the onion starts to soften, 3-4 minutes.
5. Add the ground spices to the pan and stir for a minute until the aroma spreads. Then add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and water. Mix everything well, bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the eggplants are cooked.
6. Remove the baked eggplants from the oven. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh of the eggplants, removing the skin. Check to see if the stewed tomatoes in the pan have already become limp and have started to fall apart. If so, stir in the eggplant flesh.
7. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lime juice.

Yield: 2 servings
Recipe: forkfulofplants.com