Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk & The Winner of Giveaway is...

Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk

I LOVE the Baingan/Badanekai/Brinjal/Eggplant. ~Period~

My love for these purple or green beauties has no limit. I can eat it day in and day out without getting tired or bored of its taste, texture and all. When most of my friends, cousins twisted their nose and turned their back to anything and everything made using the eggplants, I happily sat there relishing the last piece of this versatile vegetable. I was every mother’s dream child who adored eggplants. For me this purple or green beauty is THE king of vegetables with fitting crown adorning its head!

In spite of my love for these veggies, cooking them at home has become a rarity! Reason? My ‘much’ better half who is sadly allergic to eggplants even if he takes one small bite! Before Lil Dumpling came in to our life, I used to cook eggplant dishes for myself once in every fortnight. But now I don’t have any energy to time to cook two separate dishes, one for myself and another for HD. So in spite of my never ending love affair with this vegetable, I find myself cooking it very rarely. And beside that, I find it not really enjoyable when you are the only one eating it! I usually enjoy my meals when it is shared with good friends and loved ones.

Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk

So other day when one of our good friends decided to visit us on weekend, I thought of cooking and serving some simple and homemade comfort food. I decided the menu of simpleTadka Dal (creamy lentil dish), Gobi/Cauliflower Roast, Jeera Rice (Cumin flavoured Basmati rice), and then at last decided to cook some Eggplant based curry. Since their spice tolerance has reached to medium level, thanks to my spicy Indian cooking style, I decided to make very simple and absolutely delicious Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk. This Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk was my own creation which they loved a lot and showed their appreciation by licking their fingers clean (a pat on my back ;). Since my ‘much’ better half is allergic to Eggplants in any form, it was rather nice to share a meal with someone who enjoyed eating it.

This Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk is a mild curry as the spiciness of green chillies is toned down by creamy, sweet coconut milk. The melt in mouth, soft fleshed, stir fried Eggplant pieces graciously embraced all the spices and the addition of coconut milk just added that ‘oomph’ factor to this rather special Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk. If you want to try different recipe with different flavour, then this Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk recipe is definitely for you!

Purple Beauty: Eggplant for Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk

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Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk (A mild, creamy, simple and a quick curry recipe of Eggplant cooked with Coconut Milk)

Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 18-20 mins
Spice Level: Mild
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Serves: 3-4 people
Shelf Life: 2-3 days when refrigerated
Serving Suggestion: With flavoured or plain rice or with any Indian flat bread

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Ingredients:
1 large Eggplant, diced into 1 inch cubes
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 inch Ginger, peeled and finely chopped/grated
2 Green Chillies, slit
½ cup Thick Coconut Milk
2-3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Spices Used:
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli, broken
Few Curry Leaves
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
1 tbsp Oil

Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk

Method:

1. Dice eggplants to 1 inch cubes and immerse them immediately in a bowl of water with little salt to prevent discolouration.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add all the tadka ingredients one by one. When mustard seeds starts to pop and splutter, add finely chopped onion, ginger and slit green chillies. Cook them till onions starts to turn golden brown.
3. Drain water from eggplant and mix them. Increase the flame to high and give it a good stir for 5 minutes till eggplants start to turn light brown.
4. Next mix in turmeric powder, cumin seeds powder, coriander powder and salt to taste and give it a good stir till all the pieces are evenly coated with spice mixture, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Add coconut milk and reduce the flame to medium. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, gently stirring occasionally, till eggplants are cooked and turn tender but still retain their shape.
6. Add finely chopped coriander leaves and serve this delicious, creamy Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk with any flavoured or plain rice or any Indian flat breads of your choice and enjoy!

Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk

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Sia’s Notes:

• You can add a teaspoon of Garam Masala if you like your curry spicy or increase the amount of green chilli used to your taste.
• Once the coconut milk is added, be careful while stirring the eggplants as they should retain their shape and not turn mushy!
• This Eggplant Curry with Coconut Milk tastes even better on next day!

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Before I hit the post button, let me announce the randomly chosen winner of my 5th blog anniversary giveaway. Drum rolls, please! 

The winner of Helen’s gorgeous and fantastic photography book Plate to Pixel is ~drum rolls~ Sharmila. 

Hearty congratulations, Sharmila! I hope you enjoy, cherish and treasure this book as I do :) Please mail me your contact details to sia[at]monsoonspice[dot]com.