Aubergines with peanut masala recipe
This elegant dish reflects the refinement of Persian-inspired cooking techniques and incorporates punchy southern Indian ingredients, such as peanuts, tamarind, curry leaves and coconut.
Tip: this recipe calls for small, oval-shaped or round aubergines, available from Indian and specialist grocery shops. You could also use larger aubergines – just remember to allow extra cooking time. Choose firm, unblemished fruit, which feel heavy for their weight and yield slightly when pressed.
Ingredients
- 200 g wet, seedless tamarind block
- 7.1 oz wet, seedless tamarind block
- 7.1 oz wet, seedless tamarind block
- 1 onion, thickly sliced
- 75 g unsalted peanuts, skinned
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp white poppy seeds
- 75 g wet tamarind pulp, seedless
- 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
- 0.8 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 rounded teaspoon jaggery or light brown soft sugar
- 8 small, round or oval aubergines (about 600g/21oz)
- 4 tbsp sunflower oil
- 15 fresh curry leaves
- 1 onion, thickly sliced
- 2.6 oz unsalted peanuts, skinned
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp white poppy seeds
- 2.6 oz wet tamarind pulp, seedless
- 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
- 0.8 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 rounded teaspoon jaggery or light brown soft sugar
- 8 small, round or oval aubergines (about 600g/21oz)
- 4 tbsp sunflower oil
- 15 fresh curry leaves
- 1 onion, thickly sliced
- 2.6 oz unsalted peanuts, skinned
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp white poppy seeds
- 2.6 oz wet tamarind pulp, seedless
- 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
- 0.8 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 rounded teaspoon jaggery or light brown soft sugar
- 8 small, round or oval aubergines (about 600g/21oz)
- 4 tbsp sunflower oil
- 15 fresh curry leaves
Details
- Cuisine: Indian
- Recipe Type: Aubergine
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 60 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- First make the tamarind pulp. Break up the tamarind block with your hands and put it in a heatproof bowl. Pour over enough boiling water to cover generously and soak for 15–20 minutes, until it is totally soft. Leave to one side to cool.
- Push the tamarind pulp through a metal sieve and discard any fibres. Sometimes a fine-meshed sieve can become clogged with the pulp. It’s best to use a coarse sieve, conical strainer or even a colander instead. Add a little water if the tamarind is too thick to easily pass through the sieve. Aim for a consistency similar to a cake batter.
- To make the aubergine masala, heat a griddle or cast-iron frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and peanuts and dry-roast for about 3–4 minutes, until the nuts pick up flecks of colour.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the coconut, then the coriander, sesame, cumin and poppy seeds, and continue cooking for about 2–3 minutes, until the coconut darkens and the spices are aromatic.
- Take the pan off the heat, transfer everything to a bowl and add the tamarind pulp, turmeric, chilli powder and jaggery or sugar. Stir to combine, then scrape the mixture into a food processor and blend to a thick paste, adding a splash of water if needed. You can use a mortar and pestle for this if you don’t have a food processor.
- Slit each aubergine from bottom to stem through the centre, but not quite all the way through – they should each hold together at the stem. Fill each aubergine with a dessert spoon of the spiced peanut paste, reserving the remaining paste to make a sauce.
- Heat the oil in a large, sturdy frying pan over a medium heat. Add the filled aubergines and fry on both sides until the skin darkens and the flesh begins to soften. This should take about 5 minutes. Carefully transfer them from the pan onto a plate.
- Add the curry leaves to the oil in the frying pan. Then, after a few seconds add the reserved peanut paste. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring all the time, then pour over 250ml/8.5fl oz of hot water or enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Bring the masala to a simmer over a medium-low heat and return the aubergines to the pan, arranging them in a single layer. Cover the pan and cook the aubergines over a low heat for about 15–20 minutes, until tender and the masala has thickened (add a splash of water if it starts to catch on the bottom of the pan). Serve with Indian breads or rice.
This recipe is from India: The World Vegetarian by Roopa Gulati (Bloomsbury Absolute, £20). Out now. Photography by David Loftus.
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