Chetna Makan’s imli baigan is a quick aubergine curry recipe with bags of flavour: fried onions and aubergine, fennel and a tamarind tang.
Recipe taken from Chetna’s 30-Minute Indian (£20, Mitchell Beazley), out now.
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Ingredients
- 1 large aubergine, cut into 5-7.5cm long strips
- 3-4 tbsp sunflower oil
- Pinch asafoetida
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
You’ll also need
- Pestle and mortar
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Method
- To prepare the aubergine, put it on a plate, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add the asafoetida and sizzle for a few seconds. Add the onions and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes until golden.
- Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan. Pat the aubergine fingers dry, add them to the hot oil and cook over a high heat for 2 minutes until golden.
- While the aubergine is cooking, heat a small frying pan, add the fennel seeds and toast for 1 minute, then use a pestle and mortar to crush them.
- Add the crushed fennel seeds to the onion pan and cook for a minute, then stir in the ground spices. Add the fried aubergine with 200ml water and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the sugar and tamarind and cook over a high heat for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens, then serve.
Nutrition
- 147kcals Calories
- 9.6g (1.2g saturated) Fat
- 2.5g Protein
- 9.9g (8.2g sugars) Carbs
- 5.1g Fibre
- 0.2g Salt
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