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Overhead view of eggplant curry in a skillet with a wooden spoon.
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Eggplant Curry

This Eggplant Curry recipe is inspired by baingan bharta with roasted eggplant and tomatoes, warm spices, and a quick curry-paste shortcut. Cozy and easy!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Total Cost: $7.32 recipe / $1.83 serving
Servings: 4 servings (3/4 cup each)
Calories: 171kcal
Author: Jess Rice

Equipment

  • Medium Bowl
  • Baking Sheet
  • Parchment Paper
  • Skillet or Sauté Pan

Ingredients

  • 2 eggplants cut into quarters, (2.1lbs) $3.55
  • 3 Roma tomatoes cut into quarters, (1 lb) $0.93
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil divided, $0.35
  • 1½ tsp sea salt divided, $0.02
  • ½ Tbsp garam masala $0.50
  • 1 tsp ground cumin $0.05
  • ¼ tsp black pepper freshly cracked, $0.03
  • 1 Tbsp salted butter $0.12
  • 1 small white onion diced (about 3/4 cup) $0.86
  • ½ Tbsp red curry paste $0.15*
  • 2 garlic cloves minced, $0.10
  • 1 inch fresh ginger grated, $0.39
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley minced, $0.27

Instructions

  • Gather ingredients. Preheat oven to 450℉.
  • Prepare fresh ingredients: cut eggplants in quarters, cut tomatoes in quarters, peel garlic, and dice onion.
  • Toss eggplant and tomatoes in 1 Tbsp olive oil and ½ tsp salt.
  • Spread out on a lined baking sheet and roast together for 35 min.
  • In a dry skillet or sauté pan, add garam masala, cumin, and black pepper and toast until fragrant over medium-low heat, about 3 minutes.
  • Add butter, remaining olive oil, onions, remaining salt, and curry paste to the pan. (Scrape out the last drips of olive oil and salt from your veggie mixing bowl, too!) Mix together and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until onions have softened.
  • Mince the garlic and grate the fresh ginger. Add it to the onions sautéing in the pan. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. When your veggies have about 3-5 minutes left in the oven, turn the oven on to broil to get some more color on your tomatoes and eggplant pieces.
  • If your veggies still need more time in the oven. You can turn the heat down to low on the skillet until you’re ready to add the veggies from the oven to your skillet. Stir occasionally to make sure they don’t burn.
  • Add tomatoes, fresh parsley, and eggplant to your skillet. Turn the skillet back up to medium heat if you turned it off while the veggies in the oven finished!) Gently peel off the blistered eggplant skin. Don’t sweat it if some of the skin remains!
  • Mash the tomatoes and eggplant into the seasoned onion mixture until well-combined. I use a wooden spoon to achieve this.
  • Let the mixture simmer for another 10 minutes over medium-low heat. I love to serve this hot over basmati rice with naan!

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Notes

*I use Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste for this recipe. It’s so flavorful, and it’s one of those pantry staples I can use to make all sorts of quick meals. It’s also great in other recipes, like our red curry soup.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Sodium: 906mg | Fiber: 8g