Like many of my recipes, this came about because there was very little food in the house. I had an aubergine leftover from making another dish and always have tins of tomatoes and spices, so Brinjal Bhaji seemed the perfect meal to make.
The masala base for this recipe, is a great one to know, as it's really versatile and can be easily adapted for use with other pulses and vegetables. I often use it to make Chana Masala (chickpea curry) or Mutter Paneer (Indian cheese and pea curry).
I served this curry as a main meal, but it would also be great as a side dish or as part of a
Thali.
4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 aubergine
1 large white onion
2 large cloves of garlic
2-3 teaspoons of fresh ginger
1 chilli
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of garam masala
½ teaspoon of turmeric
Salt
⅓– ½ tin of finely chopped tomatoes
Fresh coriander to garnish
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
- Remove the top of the aubergine and then cut the remaining aubergine into 1-2cm dice.
- Throw the aubergine into a roasting tin and drizzle with oil. Mix the aubergine with the oil and then roast for 30 minutes.
- Peel and dice the onion.
- Peel and grate the garlic and ginger.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large lidded pan over a medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot , add the onion and sauté the onion until it becomes translucent, (adding more oil to the pan if needed).
- Add the garlic, ginger and dry spices. Fry for 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn the spices.
- Add the tomatoes and stir to combine with the onion and spice mix. Reduce the heat and cook until the oil starts to separate from the tomatoes - this usually takes about 10 minutes.
- Add the roasted aubergine and cook for a further 5-10 minutes.
- Leave to cool slightly before serving.
- Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.
