Eggplant and Chickpea Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 large eggplants
1 tbsp turmeric powder
7-8 tbsp sunflower oil
2x400g tin chickpeas
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chilli powder
2 limes, juiced or 2 tbsp tamarind pulp
½ cup water
Salt to taste

Summary

The other day we visited Rachel down at Joe’s Garden. She was about to have her lunch, which was this eggplant and chickpea curry from the archives of Tamil Feasts. We’ve adapted it slightly from their original version, roasting rather than deep frying the eggplant, which works a treat – dig in!

Eggplant and Chickpea Curry

Heat oven to 200°C (fan forced).

Chop the eggplant into roughly 2cm chunks, salt well and sprinkle with turmeric. Place in a colander and leave for 20 mins.

Toss eggplant in 4 tbsp sunflower oil and spread evenly over 2 baking trays. Roast for approx 1 hr, turning occasionally, until totally tender and a little charred.

Heat remaining 3-4 tbsp oil in another pan, over a medium heat. Add the fennel seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves, and fry until popping and fragrant.

Add onion and garlic and cook until lightly browned. Then add the curry powder and chilli powder and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

If you are using tamarind, combine pulp with ½ cup water and allow to soak, squeeze together in your hand to extract the liquid.

Add the lime juice OR tamarind liquid (not pulp), the tins of chickpeas (with their liquid) and roasted eggplant to the spice mix. Heat together and simmer for 5 minutes.

Season with salt to taste. Serve with basmati rice or roti.

 

This recipe is by Nigethan Sithirasegaram from the Tamil Feasts team.

Tamil Feasts was a social enterprise that served up traditional Sri Lankan fare at CERES for six wonderful years. Prepared by Tamil men seeking asylum in Australia, these thrice-weekly feasts (Monday, Tuesday, Friday) created a context in which the chefs were able to share their cuisine and culture with the wider community.

This unique enterprise simultaneously created a space in which Australians were able to show their support of individuals who were undergoing the difficult experience of seeking refuge in a foreign land – all the while partaking in some seriously tasty food! You can read more about Tamil Feasts here and here.