Aubergine/Eggplant in Coconut-Cashew Gravy

Origin

I had some coconut milk left over from making pumpkin in coconut milk, and because I have trouble resisting baby aubergines (they’re so cute!) I had a dozen of those. So I looked for recipes to use them, and found this and this, but wasn’t completely satisfied with either, so I made something in between. This is a very mild, creamy sauce.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cashews
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 12 baby aubergines
• 1 yellow onion
• 1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 piece of cassia cinnamon
• 1 dried red chilli
• a few curry leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen coconut
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
• salt
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• coriander leaves (cilantro), to garnish

Method

Put the cashews in a bowl, and just cover them with boiling water. Set aside.

Cut a cross into the bottom of each of the baby aubergines. Cut about halfway up the vegetable. Leave the top intact to hold the aubergine together.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan on high. Add the aubergines, and toss until they some brown spots. Then reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, tossing them from time to time. Cook about ten minutes in total, then remove them from the pan and set aside. Reduce the heat to low.

While the aubergines are cooking, roughly dice the onion and purée it with a little water. Set it aside.

Purée the cashews, using water as needed, to form a smooth paste. Set it aside.

In the cooler pan, add the remaining tablespoon of oil and turn the heat to medium. Once the heat pan is warm, add the cassia, cumin seeds, curry leaves, chilli, chilli powder, turmeric and mustard seeds. Cook until the mustard seeds start to pop, then add the onion and cook over low-medium heat until the raw smell disappears.

Add the coconut milk, vegetable bouillon, cashew paste, the coconut, and a couple cups of water. Add the aubergines to the pan. They do not need to be covered by the liquid. Allow to simmer on medium until the sauce is thick and the aubergines are soft when you insert a fork.

Remove from the heat. Add garam masala, lemon juice, and salt to taste. Serve garnished with coriander leaves.

Discard the curry leaves, aubergine tops, and cassia when eating. Serve with rice or roti.

 

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This dish consists of aubergines/eggplants cooked with tomatoes, mixed with yoghurt. It is good with a bit of bread on a hot day.

Melitzanosalata

I’m fond of mutabal and baba ghanoush, but I’m even more fond of trying new recipes. I made a Greek eggplant/aubergine dip for a change. It isn’t my favourite of all aubergine dips, but it was pretty good.

Baigan Choka

This recipe for an aubergine/eggplant dip from Trinidad comes from Yotem Ottolenghi’s Plenty More. Since I’ve been baking a lot of bread lately, I thought I’d make a dip for it. The hint of purple here is onion; the recipe calls for half an onion so I made use of a leftover purple one.

Braised Vegetables with Star Anise

I started these braised vegetables as if I was making a stir fry. I heated oil in a wok, and then poured it over Szechuan peppers, star anise, dried chilli pepper, roughly chopped garlic, roughly chopped ginger, and the white part of a spring onion. I then returned the oil to the wok and added carrot, chard, king oyster mushrooms and an aubergine. After tossing the vegetables in the oil, I added a little water and put the lid on the wok. I continued to cook it, stirring periodically and adding a little water as needed, until the vegetables were cooked. I then removed the lid and added a bit of soy sauce, some agave syrup, a touch of mirin and the green part of the spring onion. Once the liquid was gone I sprinkled it with sesame seeds and served it.

Pasta with Caciocavallo and Eggplant/Aubergine

I sort of worked off of this recipe, but I simmered the eggplant/aubergine in water with a little oil instead of frying them, and I baked the pasta in the oven for 20 minutes after combining it with the sauce, eggplant, and cheese. Also I used a different type of pasta and reduced the recipe.

I was in the mood for a cheesy pasta dish but this was not my favourite.

Braised King Oyster Mushrooms and Aubergine/Eggplant

To make this dish, I put 2 cloves of garlic, some ginger, the white part of a spring onion and a whole dried chilli pepper in a bowl. I heated oil in a wok and poured the oil over the spices.

I then put the wok back on the heat and added two chopped king oyster mushrooms and one chopped aubergine/eggplant. I added vegetable stock and braised it with a lid on until the vegetables were cooked. After that I removed the lid and let the remaining liquid evaporate.

I removed it from the heat, added a little soy sauce, the oil which the spices cooked in, and the green part of the spring onion. Chilli oil can be added as well, if additional seasoning is needed.

Vegan Kare Kare

This recipe already adapts the dish to make it vegan, but I had to make further adjustments. First, I was only able to find banana blossom canned. Second, I chose to get cheaper green beans rather than long beans. Third, I thought I had puffed rice – but I didn’t – so the sauce is a little thinner. And finally I had annato seeds but not powder, so I wasn’t able to get as pronounced a colour when I soaked them.