serves
4
prep
10 minutes
cook
35 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
35
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Stream free On Demand
The Cook Up with Adam Liaw
series • cooking
PG
series • cooking
PG
Ingredients
- 1 kg eggplant, cut into 4 cm pieces
- ⅓ cup sunflower oil (or other neutral oil)
- 1 tsp each cumin seeds and mustard seeds
- ¼ cup curry leaves
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 1 ½ tbsp garam masala
- 1 ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 truss tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 400 ml can coconut cream
- 100 g baby spinach leaves (or 100 g frozen spinach cubes)
- Flatbreads or rice, coriander leaves, to serve
For the curry leaf cashews
- ¼ cup (60 ml) sunflower oil
- ¼ cup curry leaves
- ⅔ cup raw cashews, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 large garlic clove, finely grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Brush the eggplant with half the oil, then scatter over the prepared tray. Roast for 25 minutes, or until slightly charred and tender – but still holding their shape.
- While the eggplant roasts, heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and curry leaves and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the onion and cook for 3–4 minutes, until softened.
- Add the garlic and ginger, garam masala and turmeric and cook for a further minute or until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes until broken down slightly.
- Add the roasted eggplant to the pan and stir to combine. Season with salt and add the coconut cream and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer and cook for a further 10 minutes, until reduced slightly, then stir through the spinach and remove from the heat.
- To make the curry leaf cashews, heat the oil in a small frying pan. Add the curry leaves and cashews. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until beginning to blister. Add the garam masala and garlic and stir to combine, then remove from the heat. Cool, then drain the curry leaf cashews on a plate lined with paper towel.
- Serve the eggplant curry with flatbreads or rice, topped with curry leaf cashews and sprinkled with coriander leaves.
Photography by Jiwon Kim.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Stream free On Demand
The Cook Up with Adam Liaw
