This delicious eggplant curry with easy flatbread is a recipe from my second book All-day bowls, and one I still make pretty often. Don’t let the long list of ingredients fool you: you probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboard already and preparing this curry is actually really simple. The fragrant curry gets a special touch with the addition of sweet ruby red pomegranate seeds and is highly recommended.
I like to serve this curry with flatbread, that you can easily make with only 2(!) ingredients: self-rising flour and yogurt. I like to add some turmeric as well, to give those breads a pretty golden color.
Baking these in the oven will make sure they cook evenly, but you can also cook them using a grill pan. Whatever works for you.
INGREDIENTS
serves 4
for the curry:
3 eggplants
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp ghee*
2 large onions, finely chopped
8 cardamom pods, seeds crushed (or 1 tsp ground cardamom)
¼ tsp chili flakes
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp turmeric
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 inch (2 cm) piece of ginger, grated
1 can (13.5 oz or 400 g) chopped tomatoes
1 can (13.5 oz or 400 ml) coconut milk
4 tbsp pomegranate seeds
to serve: yogurt, fresh cilantro and/or parsley
extra: baking sheet, covered with baking paper
* ghee is Indian clarified butter, perfect for high heats. You can find it at large supermarkets or online, but you could substitute butter or olive oil here.
for the flatbread:
1 + 1/3 cup (200 g) self-rising flour
½ cup + 2-4 tbsp (150-175 ml) thick yoghurt
1 tsp turmeric
olive oil, for brushing
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
Halve the eggplants lengthwise, then cut them into thick slices. Put on the baking sheet, drizzle with oil and generously season with salt and pepper. Roast them for 25 minutes in the oven and flip them halfway.
Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a large pan and gently sauté the onion for 10 minutes, or until it’s golden brown and soft. Add the spices, garlic and ginger and fry for another minute. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk, as well as almost ½ cup (100 ml) of water. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer – covered – for 20 minutes. Add the roasted eggplants when they’re done, but leave the oven on.
Meanwhile, continue with the flatbread. Mix the flour and yogurt in a bowl and add the turmeric and a pinch of salt. Knead until you’ve got a smooth dough that doesn’t stick. Add extra yogurt or flour if necessary.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll these out on a flour-dusted surface until you’ve got oval-shaped breads of about 6 inch (15 cm). Put these in the oven and bake about 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown and done.
Scoop the curry into 4 bowls, sprinkle over the pomegranate and serve with the flatbread, yogurt and optional herbs.
Variation: replace half of the eggplants with large shrimps or chicken.
