Aubergine & chickpea curry

Aubergine & chickpea curry

By Sarah Cook
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(51 ratings)
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Prep: 20 mins Cook: 50 mins

Easy

Serves 6
With golden aubergine, fresh tomatoes and a fragrant coconut sauce, this veggie curry's a surefire summertime winner

Nutrition and extra info

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan

Nutrition: per sreving

  • kcal261
  • fat18g
  • saturates10g
  • carbs19g
  • sugars9g
  • fibre5g
  • protein7g
  • salt0.44g
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Ingredients

  • 2 aubergines
    Aubergine

    Aubergine

    oh-ber-geen

    Although it's technically a fruit (a berry, to be exact), the aubergine is used as a…

  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra to serve, if you like
    Sunflower oil

    Sunflower oil

    A variety of oils can be used for baking. Sunflower is the one we use most often at Good Food as…

  • 1 tbsp brown or black mustard seeds
  • 10-12 curry leaves, plus extra to serve, if you like
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
    Onion

    Onion

    un-yun

    Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

  • 2 dried chillies, chopped
    Chillies

    Chilli

    chill-ee

    Part of the capsicum family, chillies come in scores of varieties and colours (from green…

  • 4 tsp garam masala
    Garam masala

    Garam masala

    gar-am mah-sarl-ah

    Meaning 'warming spice mix', garam masala is the main spice blend used in North Indian…

  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp turmeric
    Turmeric

    Turmeric

    term-er-ik

    Turmeric is a fragrant, bright golden-yellow root that is most commonly seen and used dried and…

  • 400ml can coconut milk
    Coconut milk in a glass, with half a coconut

    Coconut milk

    ko-ko-nut mill-k

    Coconut milk is not the slightly opaque liquid that flows from a freshly opened coconut –…

  • 6 tomatoes, quartered
    Tomato

    Tomato

    toe-mart-oh

    A member of the nightshade family (along with aubergines, peppers and chillies), tomatoes are in…

  • 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Method

  1. Halve the aubergines, then cut each half into wedges. Heat ½ tbsp oil in a large pan, preferably non-stick, and brown half the aubergines for 2-3 mins on each side until golden brown and crisp all over. Scoop onto a plate, repeat with more oil and the remaining aubergines, then set everything aside.

  2. Add the remaining oil to the pan with the mustard seeds and curry leaves and fry for 30 secs until fragrant. Stir in the onions and continue cooking until they are softened and beginning to brown. Add the dried chillies and spices with a spoonful of the thick coconut milk from the top of the can, then fry for 1 min more. Add the remaining coconut milk, tomatoes and half a can of water. Simmer for 25-30 mins until thick and saucy.

  3. Stir in the chickpeas and aubergines. Continue simmering for 5 mins or so, until everything is hot and the aubergines are tender. Serve with rice or warm naan bread, scattered with a few extra curry leaves sizzled in a splash of oil, if you like.

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Comments, questions and tips

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sarah cook's picture
sarah cook
14th Sep, 2018
4.05
I stuck to the recipe and thought it was a nice mildly spiced curry. My other half absolutely loved it. I think frying the aubergines before mixing into the curry is really good as it makes them lovely and soft (although unhealthier!).
Sal Southall's picture
Sal Southall
1st Sep, 2017
5.05
Was a bit unsure of this but it's so full of flavour going to be a regular!
Booger Benson
3rd Aug, 2017
5.05
Cooked this up as per recipe and it was great. Its all about the curry leaves you know. Added Sweet Potato and a bit of garlic. Right nice,and I'm not really a big aubergine fan. How anyone can find this bland then they must be doing something wrong.
fayemarissa
25th Oct, 2016
5.05
Super yummy!
steve shrew
19th Sep, 2016
print problem: for me it printed a blank page
libsybibsy
12th Mar, 2016
I really enjoyed this!
alexterryuk
19th Dec, 2015
Found this a little slimey and bland.
kiwiinlux
23rd Sep, 2015
5.05
We really enjoyed this meal - I certainly wouldn't call it bland. I didn't have curry leaves, and added curry powder with the other spices, and used a tin of tomatoes instead of fresh.
allypallu
25th Aug, 2015
4.05
I tried this recipe out a couple of months ago and it is now part of our staple diet - Although I use this as a base and have changed a few things as I found the original recipe a bit dry and bitter. Instead of shallow frying the aubergine pieces, I oven bake them for about 40 minutes with olive oil and honey. I also add a tin of chopped tomatoes for added sauce (we
Brownep
26th Jul, 2015
4.05
I cooked this exactly as the recipe instructed and it was delicious. It's quite a delicate curry with subtle flavours. It's not that hot, but the aubergine and tomato flavours come through nicely. I will definitely be cooking this again!

Pages

Szyszka
18th Feb, 2015
What can I substitude curry leaves with???
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
2nd Mar, 2015
Hi Szyszka, thanks for your question. Curry leaves have a quite distinct flavour so if you can't get fresh ones, you can rehydrate dried ones in a little just boiled water. Alternatively you could try adding some kaffir lime leaves instead, or if you can't get those either then just up the quanities of the other spices slightly. Hope this helps. 
Pgpip
5th May, 2017
3.05
I traded coconut oil for double cream (just a splash initially and the rest just before the end). I threw in a few coriander stalks, grated some ginger in, fresh spinach just before plating up and served with fresh coriander, mango chutney and a squeeze of lemon. Delish but would have been bland otherwise.
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