Aubergine Curry

This warming aubergine curry is perfect cosy winter food. I do feel a little sorry for aubergine, or eggplant/brinjal as it’s known in other places. It’s got a bit of a bad rap because people can undercook it so when they try it, it’s spongy and bitter. I can definitely see why you wouldn’t enjoy it when it’s cooked that way. But when cooked properly for long enough, it becomes really tender and just melts in your mouth

Yield; Four servings (approx 200kcal per serving) Cook time; 30 minutes

You’ll need;

One teaspoon of oil
Two aubergines, cut into small pieces
One red onion, finely sliced
Two cloves of garlic, minced
One red chilli pepper, minced (remove seeds for less heat)
One 400g/14oz tin of chopped tomatoes
100ml hot vegetable stock
Three tablespoons of curry powder
100ml non-dairy cream
One 400g/14oz tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Method;

Add the oil into a frying pan over a medium high heat, add the aubergine and cook for ten minutes, stirring regularly
Then lower the temperature to medium and add the onion, garlic and chilli, cook for another five minutes, or until the onion begins to soften
Then add the tomato, stock and curry powder, give everything a good mix to combine and allow to cook for another ten minutes
Finally add the chickpeas and cream, season to taste with salt and black pepper, give it another five minutes and then it’s done. Serve with rice, poppadoms or dairy free naan bread

As always, I used tofu cream as my non-dairy cream. It’s just one block of silken tofu blended with between 200-250ml unsweetened plant milk. Using 200ml will give a thicker double cream type of consistency, 250ml gives a slightly thinner single cream like consistency