curry and rice in a round bowl

Smoky Eggplant and Tomato Curry

You'll want a large tablespoon of Black Honey on hand for this gloriously delicious aubergine and tomato curry.

Recipe and photo credit: Abylene Chalmers | Kitchen Garden Rhythms

Smoky Eggplant and Tomato Curry

Aby Chalmers

Servings

4

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Cuisine

Indian

Category

Main

Adding Black Honey at the end gives this curry a lovely sweet depth.

Choose eggplants/aubergines that are shiny and plump. Their silky rich flesh is well suited to take on Indian flavours and spices.

Smoky Eggplant and Tomato Curry

Ingredients

  • 2 medium sized aubergines/eggplants

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons rice bran oil

  • 1 tbsp black mustard seeds

  • 1 tsp fenugreek seeds

  • 1 onion, sliced into crescents

  • 1 fresh large green chili, such as poblano or jalapeno, seeds and pith removed, thinly sliced

  • 6 large tomatoes, chopped (consider removing the skins first, see note at the bottom of the recipe)

  • ½ tsp ground cumin

  • 1 tsp smoked paprika

  • 1 tsp ground coriander

  • ½ tsp garam masala

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 large tbsp Black Honey

  • Fresh coriander to top

Directions

  1. Slice the eggplants into thirds widthwise. Then cut each third into 8 wedges.

  2. Place the wedges into a colander and sprinkle the first measurement of salt over them, tossing to combine. Allow to rest for ½ hour to extract the moisture from the eggplant. Pat dry with a paper towel.

  3. Heat the ½ cup oil in a large frying pan and fry the eggplant pieces until golden brown all over. You may need to do this in a couple of batches. As the eggplant wedges cook, remove them from the oil and drain on paper towels.

  4. Heat the extra 2 tbsp of oil in a heavy based saucepan along with the mustard and fenugreek seeds, onion crescents and green chili. Season with a good pinch of salt and cook until the onions just begin to colour and the seeds begin to pop, about 5-6 minutes. Make sure you don’t burn the seeds, the salt will help with this, as will stirring the mixture as it cooks.

  5. Add the chopped tomatoes, ground cumin, smoked paprika, garam masala, and salt. Cook for a further 8 to 10 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked through and the sauce has thickened.

  6. Add the eggplant and carefully stir through to reheat it. Remove from the heat and stir in the black honey.

  7. Serve with jasmine rice and poppadoms. Enjoy!