Posts
OK, I promised to share this recipe with you and so now I am finally going to live up to my word. I did warn you that it isn't very photogenic. However, I can reassure you that it is truly delicious.
Eggplant, chickpea & ginger curry
(Adapted from The Vegetarian Cookbook, by Charmaine Solomon)
Ingredients
2 large eggplants
1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
4 cardamon pods
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon salt
2 large tomatoes, roughly diced (or half a can of diced tomatoes)
vegetable oil
Cut the eggplants in half, brush them with oil and bake them in a medium-hot oven for about 45 minutes, or place (skin side up) under a medium-hot grill until the skins begin to burn and the insides go all soft and mushy. Remove and scrap out the flesh with a soup spoon, then roughly chop it up.
While the eggplant is baking (etc), cook the chickpeas and cardamon pods in a pan of boiling water for about 30-40 minutes, until really nice and tender. (If you are using canned chickpeas, then still boil them with the cardamon pods for about 20 minutes. it will make them nice and tender and infuse them with the cardamon flavour). Drain, rinse and remove the cardamon pods and any loose skins that are floating about.
Place the grated ginger in about 1 tablespoon of oil over a medium heat for a few minutes and then add the spices and stir for another 30 seconds. Add the eggplant flesh, tomato and salt and stir to combine. Turn down the heat and cover the pan. Leave it to cook for about 20 minutes.
Add the chickpeas to the eggplant, stir to combine and cover again. Leave to cook for another 30 minutes (or eat it straight away if you are too hungry to wait - the extra 30 minutes does make it yummier, but it is far from essential).
Serve over rice with a side of dahl or a mushroom curry.
|