Aubergine Korma
“Aubergine is a wonderfully meaty vegetable but often people are turned off if they have eaten rubbery aubergine. Aubergine is rubbery if it hasn’t been cooked for long enough. In this recipe you cook it twice, once in the oven and then in the sauce on the hob. So you can be extra sure it is cooked properly. You may have heard that aubergine needs to be salted to remove bitterness. This used to be the case but as the bitterness has been bred out. With modern day varieties it isn’t necessary. ”
Prep time - 20 minutes
Cook time - 40 minutes
Difficulty - Medium
Serves / makes - 2 large or 4 small portions
Ingredients
3 aubergines
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 small handful fresh curry leaves (not dried)
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup cashews
1 cup almond milk
1 can coconut milk
1 handful coriander leaf
Equipment
Baking tray
Blender or food processor
Saucepan
Method
Preheat the oven to 200c/390f/GM6.
Cut the aubergine into bitesize pieces. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the aubergine is just soft.
Purée the onion and garlic in a blender or food processor. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, fry the onion and garlic until browned, adding little bits of water if it sticks. Once it has browned push it to the side of the pan.
Add a little oil and fry the mustard seeds, when they pop add the curry leaves. Fry for a minute then add the spices.
Grind the cashews in the chopper attachment of a hand blender or food processor. Add the cashews, almond milk and coconut milk to the pan. Mix well and add the aubergine. Allow to simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes at least until the aubergine is soft and the sauce has thicken. Note that ground cashew can thicken quickly so if it thickens too much add some hot water.
Finely chop the coriander. Add salt to taste, plus the coriander leaf, mix well and serve.
