I’m so excited to share with you this easy eggplant curry recipe! So, because I’m a nerd and love talking about other cultures, I’ll fill you in a little as to where this dish originated. It’s actually called “Punjabi Baingan Bharta” if we want to get technical. The Punjabi are a people originating in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. They have a famous dish called Baingan (eggplant) Bharta (smoked). Since most of us don’t have a wood fired stove, we’ll just use our gas or electric ovens for all intents and purposes. 😉
This is one of my favorite recipes for eggplant. Eggplant is a beautiful vegetable, but I’m usually not too crazy about the taste. However, this dish hits the spot every time. It’s basically eggplant in a tomato curry sauce. Putting together curry spices is my favorite. There are so many wonderful fresh and savory spice combinations that will leave you smelling lovely for days. There’s a whole other world of flavors that I’m just now delving into and I’m super excited for it!
Another great property to adding all these spices to the food in our lives is that we reap the benefits that the spice/herb has to offer! What a great trade off! For instance, in Indian dishes they use a LOT of turmeric, right? (That’s where that yellow-orange in all their foods comes from) Well, it just so happens that turmeric, cardamom and coriander all help to decrease inflammation and are high in anti-oxidants!
I hope you guys enjoy this dish as much as Daniel and I do!
Makes about 4 servings
Time to make: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes
6 medium tomatoes – choose the deepest reds you can find.
1 medium yellow or red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 pound super firm tofu, chunked
1/4 cup Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried ginger (or more)
2 teaspoons dried turmeric (or more)
1/2 teaspoon cardamom (or more)
1/2 teaspoon coriander (or more)
Optional: 1/2 tsp. cumin and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic
½(13oz) can coconut milk or 6 oz of sour cream or any other milk substitute.
Pour the cubed eggplant and sliced onions onto a cookie sheet and broil in the oven for about 4 minutes, or until onions are translucent.
After the eggplant and onions are done in the oven, place it and all other ingredients into a large pan over medium-high heat on the stovetop and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
Serve by itself, or with rice and/or naan!