Best Spiced Eggplant Stew Recipes

INDIAN-SPICED EGGPLANT & CAULIFLOWER STEW

Steps:

• Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat.
• Add curry powder, garam masala and mustard seeds and toast, stirring, until the spices begin to darken, about 1 minute.
• Transfer to a small bowl.
• Add oil, onion, garlic, ginger and salt to the pot and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Stir in eggplant, cauliflower, tomatoes, chickpeas, water and the spices.
• Bring to a simmer.
• Cover, reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Top each serving with optional dollop of yogurt; serve with basmatti rice & a loaf of 7 grain bread.
• **Garam masala is a flavorful, fragrant blend of dry-roasted ground spices. It's in the spice section of most supermarkets and specialty stores.

INDIAN EGGPLANT STEW WITH SPICED BASMATI RICE

Steps:

• For the Vegetables:.
• Heat a large soup pot over medium to high heat and add the ghee or olive oil. Add the onions and garlic, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ginger, and hot pepper until the onions are translucent and the mustard seeds begin to pop.
• Add the eggplant and mix well so the spices and ghee are absorbed, the let it cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the bunch of fresh spinach. There is no need to cut off the stems since many of the vitamins are found there. You can put the spinach in without chopping and it will cook down.
• Cover the stew pot for a few minutes until it cooks down and you can fit the rest of the ingredients in the pot.
• Add the tomatoes, turmeric, and salt and cook above for about 10 minutes, until spinach is soft. Add the garbanzo beans, lemon juice, and sugar, and cook for about 5 more minutes. Serve over spiced basmati rice.
• For Spiced Basmati Rice:.
• Bring water to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to low. Add the rice, ghee, and spices and mix well. Cook for 25-30 minutes then remove from the heat. Let the cooked rice sit for 5 minutes and then fluff the rice with a fork. You can also use a rice cooker to make the spiced rice.

SPICED EGGPLANT STEW

Steps:

• Wipe the eggplants, cut the stems from them, and cut them into fat chunks. The dish will be more interesting to eat if you don't cut them too small. Put them into a colander, set in the sink, and sprinkle sea salt over them. Leave them for a good half hour, longer if you can.
• Peel and coarsely chop the onions, then cook them with the oil in a large pan over medium heat until they are soft, translucent, and sweet.
• While the onions are cooking, crush the cardamom pods with the flat blade of a knife or a rolling pin and shake out the little black seeds into a mortar or spice grinder (or a clean coffee grinder). Add the coriander seeds and the peppercorns and grind them to a coarse powder. The smell as you grind will convince you that there is much to be missed in buying ready-ground spices.
• Thinly slice the garlic. Peel the ginger and cut it into thin, matchsticklike shards. Stir the garlic and ginger into the onions along with the turmeric and ground spices. Peel and seed the tomatoes and add them to the pan.
• Rinse the eggplants of their salt and pat dry. Without oiling them, grill them on a ridged cast-iron grill pan until they are starting to soften and have dark grill lines across them. Turn them as you go, so that they are cooked on both sides, removing them as they are ready and replacing them with another batch. Add them to the onions, then pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Add the coconut milk, chiles, and a little salt and continue cooking at a simmer for about forty-five minutes. The eggplants should be very soft and silky but not actually falling apart.
• Lift out the eggplants, tomatoes, and some of the onion with a slotted spoon. Reduce the rest of the sauce by boiling hard for five minutes or so. Now ladle most, but not all, of the sauce into a blender and blitz until smooth and thick (take care to cover the top before you turn it on, the sauce is very hot). Return the vegetables and the sauce to the pot, then chop the mint and cilantro leaves and stir them in, together with a final seasoning of salt and black pepper. Serve with rice.