Name: Eggplant with Roasted Chiles and Tomato (Katarikai Bhajee)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon coriander seeds; 5 dried red Thai or cayenne chiles, stems removed; 1 medium eggplant, (about 1 pound) stem removed, cut into ¼-inch cubes; 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds; 12 to 15 medium-size to large fresh curry leaves; 1½ teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 medium-size tomato, cored and finely chopped; ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems; 3 tablespoons skinned split black lentils (cream-colored in this form, urad dal), picked over for stones; 2 tablespoons canola oil

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

Potently spiced, this curry is delicious when mixed with white basmati rice. If you’re not watching your calories, drizzle a tablespoon or more of Ghee over it all to balance out the pungent chiles. I like to take this along for a summer picnic—it transports well and is just as delicious at room temperature. A bowl of plain yogurt alongside is soothing and also provides that complementary protein, making it a nutritionally well-balanced meal.