Eggplant Curry - South Indian Brinjal Curry
User Reviews
5.0
378 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
15 mins
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Cook Time
1 hr
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Servings
4 - 5 people
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Calories
250 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Indian
Eggplant Curry - South Indian Brinjal Curry
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Recipe video above. This curry is not for the faint hearted! Eggplant (Brinjal) stars in this strong flavoured curry, roasted rather than fried for a healthier yet equally delicious (high temp does the trick here), then simmered in an intensely spiced South Indian curry sauce so it sucks up the flavour and partially collapses to create a big pot of juicy (delicious) mush. Incidentally vegan (as much of South Indian food is). See recipe notes for subs for the harder to find spices. And when you've made this, use the same spices to make this Vegetable Samosa Pie!Spiciness: Pretty mild. Spiciness only comes from the chilli powder so if you're concerned, skip or reduce it!
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Ingredients
Roasted Eggplant:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola)
- 700g / 1.2 lb eggplant (aubergine) , 2 medium (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
Curry:
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola)
- 3/4 tsp black mustard seeds (Note 2)
- 14 curry leaves, fresh (Note 3)
- 1 red onion , quartered and thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp passata or tomato pulp (or canned tomato) (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp garlic , grated (4 cloves approx)
- 1 tbsp ginger , grated (1.5cm piece approx)
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp coconut milk or cream, full fat (Note 5)
Curry Spices:
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder or cayenne (NOT US Chilli Powder)
- 4 tsp coriander powder
- 4 tsp cumin powder
Serving
- basmati rice
- yogurt , highly recommended
- coriander/cilantro leaves , optional
- Easy flatbread (as naan!) , optional
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Instructions
Roasted Eggplant:
- Preheat oven to 240°C / 450°F (220°C fan). Line tray with parchment/baking paper.
- Cut eggplant into 2cm / 4/5" slices, then cut into 2cm / 4/5" batons.
- Place in large bowl, toss with oil, salt and pepper.
- Spread on tray, roast 20 minutes. Turn, roast for a further 10 minutes - edges should be caramelised, soft inside, but they're not shrivelled up and dismal. Use per recipe.
Curry:
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, let them sizzle for 15 seconds.
- Add curry leaves, stir, leave to sizzle for 15 seconds - seeds might pop, Indian cooking is very dramatic!
- Add onions, cook 5 minutes until golden brown.
- Add tomato, cook for 1 minute, stirring.
- Add garlic and ginger, cook 2 minutes.
- Add Curry Spices and salt, and cook for another 3 minutes - it will be a thick paste and might stick to the bottom of the pot, don't let it burn (if it starts to, remove from stove and quickly add splash of water to loosen).
- Stir in water, and then add the eggplant.
- Gently stir, partially cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes. Stir carefully once or twice (so the eggplants don't break up completely), add more water if it dries out.
- Stir in coconut milk, taste then add more salt if needed.
- Your result should be a very thick, juicy, strongly flavoured curry with eggplant partially intact but half collapsed.
- Serve with basmati rice and a dollop of yogurt and fresh coriander leaves, if you want.
Notes
- Eggplant - smaller the better eg. 2 x 300g eggplants, they hold together better. Asian eggplants ok too.
- Alternative to roasting - pan fry in a little oil over medium high heat, rotating to brown all sides. Don't worry if it's a little raw inside once the outside is golden, it will finish cooking in the sauce.
- Black mustard seeds - key ingredient for authentic flavour. Look like poppyseeds, wasabi bite, Indian aroma! ~ $1.50 in small packs at Indian grocery stores (my local is Indian Emporium in Dee Why, Sydney). Also sold in the Indian food section at some Woolworths (Australia) $1.70, otherwise try online.
- Substitutes (starting with best):
- * Add with rest of spices
- Fresh curry leaves - another key ingredient for authentic flavour! Sub 10 dried curry leaves. Fairly accessible nowadays for Sydney-siders, sold at Harris Farms, most Coles and Woolworths.
- Substitute:
- Tomato - anything is fine here, pulp or passata (base recipe), or canned crushed tomato (crush it more by hand to make it more fine) or even a dollop of tomato paste.
- Coconut milk - no point using low fat because this is added to add a hint of richness. You can't taste coconut. Can sub a splash of cream.
- Leftover coconut milk: Freeze the rest in ice cube trays and use in recipes that call for a splash of coconut. Otherwise, do a recipe search for "coconut milk" and select "Using this ingredient" and it will bring up a list of recipes that have coconut milk in the ingredients. Most recipes won't suffer if you are short just 3 tbsp. Partial can uses: Gado Gado peanut sauce, scaled down batch of Thai Satay Peanut sauce (it makes a LOT!).
- Storage - leftovers keep for 5 days int he fridge. Should freeze fine (haven't tried), just stir carefully when reheating so eggplant doesn't turn into complete mush.
- Sources - As mentioned, a yearning to recreate New Shakthi Sri Lankan Restaurant's eggplant curry sparked the initial inspiration! We studied brinjal (a term for eggplant in India) recipes by South Indian and Sri Lankan food bloggers and YouTubers, including the totally awesome Village Food Factory Youtube channel to create our version.
- Nutrition per serving, curry only (no rice).
- Brown mustard seeds
- Yellow mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder*
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala* (different flavour, but is intended to make up for absence)
- dried curry leaves (not quite the same, but it's the best sub);
- 1 tsp Garam Masala powder (add it with rest of spices).
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
250cal
(13%)
Carbohydrates
18g
(6%)
Protein
3g
(6%)
Fat
21g
(32%)
Saturated Fat
16g
(80%)
Sodium
1051mg
(44%)
Potassium
559mg
(16%)
Fiber
7g
(28%)
Sugar
8g
(16%)
Vitamin A
263IU
(5%)
Vitamin C
8mg
(9%)
Calcium
62mg
(6%)
Iron
3mg
(17%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 4- 5 people
Amount Per Serving
Calories 250 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 250cal | 13% |
| Carbohydrates | 18g | 6% |
| Protein | 3g | 6% |
| Fat | 21g | 32% |
| Saturated Fat | 16g | 80% |
| Sodium | 1051mg | 44% |
| Potassium | 559mg | 12% |
| Fiber | 7g | 28% |
| Sugar | 8g | 16% |
| Vitamin A | 263IU | 5% |
| Vitamin C | 8mg | 9% |
| Calcium | 62mg | 6% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
378 reviews
Excellent
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