Baby eggplant with tomato and masala spices

Recipe By:

Dominique Rizzo

Serves:

I made this dish based on my overabundance of baby eggplants on my tree and as I love anything Indian and with eggplants how could I go wrong. I was still eating this dish a few days later and the flavours were even better.

For the Masala spice

Ingredients

1 tblsp chili powder
2 tblsp ground coriander
1 tblsp ground cumin
1 tspgaram masala
Good pinch of salt
1 tblsppanchphoran, crushed

Method

Combine all the spices together and store in a jar

Tips & Hints

Serves 4-6

Baby eggplant with tomato and masala spices

Ingredients

3 tblsp of olive oil
10 long baby eggplants
3 tblsp of masala spice mix
1/2 tsp extra of panchphoran
3 green chillies, cut in half
2 onions, finely chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tins diced peeled tomatoes or 5 fresh tomatoes blended
Juice of 1 lemon
3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and cut into julienne

Method

Cut the eggplants lengthways in half, keeping them intact at the stalk and rub them with the Masala spice so that are nicely covered in side. Heat the oil over a moderate heat in a large frypan that will hold all of the eggplant
Fry the eggplant in batches until golden on all sides, about 10 minutes all up or until they are almost cooked. Remove the eggplant and set aside
Add into the pan the panchphoran, and cook until they start to pop, then add the chillies, diced onions and spices and cook for 7 - 8 minutes until the onions have softened. Add in the tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes or until the oil separates from the sauce
Add in the eggplants and cook for a further 20 minutes until the eggplants have cooked through. You may need to add a little water to the sauce if it becomes too thick
Season with salt and pepper and serve with the lemon juice and fresh coriander scattered over the top