I love aubergines. I love them roasted, grilled, barbecued and fried. But I find, when I make an aubergine curry, they soak up the oil like a sponge! With a bit of tweaking, I have adapted my original aubergine curry recipe to create this super tasty, super healthy aubergine curry.
The healthy twist
I owe this healthy twist for my healthy aubergine curry to Delia, yes, our very own Delia Smith.
Long before there were food bloggers, celebrity chefs, diet gurus, wellness whatever, there was Delia.
Delia with her no-nonsense, matter-of-fact learn the basics, simple, easy to follow, recipes that worked.
Back then, Delia had a cookery series and books where she covered the basics.
I mean, really the basics, like how to boil an egg.
Delia didn’t smash avocados, her food was for eating not photographing and sharing across a plethora of digital channels. There was no engagement, liking or following.
Back then it was cook, eat and repeat!
It was during one of these shows Delia demonstrated a way to cook aubergines and limiting the oil content.
Light bulb moment! Would this work for my aubergine curry? I tried it, and it did. I was on my way to making my healthy aubergine curry recipe.
So c’mon what’s the twist for this super healthy aubergine curry?
Simply, all you need to do is pre-roast the aubergine before cooking the onions, garlic, ginger, spices and tomatoes, and you will still get that lovely silky texture as you would if you had cooked the aubergine in a ton of oil. Yup that’s it, and it works. Thank you, Delia!
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PinIngredients
- 3 aubergines (medium size)
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil (e.g. sunflower oil (2 tablespoons for the aubgerine, and two for frying the onion, garlic, ginger and spices))
- 2 red onions sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp mustards seeds
- 1 a generous pinch of curry leaves
- 1 crushed dry chilli
- 250 grams cherry tomatoes (sliced)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 juice of one lemon
- pepper and salt to taste
- 30 mls water
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 200 degrees.
- Cut the aubergine into quarters lengthways, then chop into one-inch triangle slices.
- Place into a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and using your hands, mix thoroughly.
- Spread the aubergine pieces evenly onto a baking tray, pop into the middle shelf on your oven and roast for about 20 minutes.
- While the aubergines are roasting, slice the onions and finely chop the garlic and ginger.
- On a medium heat, heat a small amount of oil in a large frying pan and add in the whole spices, chilli and curry leaves.
- Once the spices release their fragrance, add the onions, fry until they are soft before adding the garlic and ginger. Fry for around three to four minutes. Turn the heat down so the garlic and ginger doesn’t burn.
- Now add the sliced cherry tomatoes, and cook until soft and the skins start to burst.
- Add the ground spices, followed by the lemon juice and seasoning and stir continually to incorporate all the ingredients.
- Finally, add the freshly roasted aubergines. These should be soft, and gently charred. Mix the aubergine into the tomatoes. Add the water, before covering and cooking for 20 minutes on a low heat. You should have a thick, rich, spicy sauce coating deliciously soft aubergines.
- Simply serve with basmati rice or as an accompaniment to your main curry dish.
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