Name: Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Masala
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon nigella seeds; ½ teaspoon chilli powder; 1 teaspoon castor sugar; 1 teaspoon mustard seeds; 60 g rice flour; 100 g split urad dal (black gram); 10 fresh curry leaves; 1 tablespoon fresh curry leaves; ½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds; 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves; 2 teaspoons sea salt; 1 small green chilli, minced; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; ¼ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder; ½ teaspoon ground fennel; 2 brown onions, finely sliced; 20 ml fresh lime juice, strained; 20 ml Tamarind Liquid; 250 g cherry tomatoes, halved coriander leaves, to serve; 30 g ghee; 2 teaspoons urad dal (black gram); ½ teaspoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 400 g eggplants (aubergines), cut into wedges and deep-fried; 250 ml Tamarind Liquid; ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 40 ml vegetable oil; 80 g grated fresh coconut; vegetable oil, for brushing

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Fire

By Christine Manfield

Published 2008

About

This spicy vegetable stew is served over fluffy idli (steamed rice cakes) with a fresh coconut chutney. It pays homage to the vegetarian cooking of India’s southern states, where each component is characteristically flavoured with tempered spices.

Ingredients

40 ml vegetable oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
10 fresh

Method

To make the chutney, heat the ghee in a frying pan and fry the curry leaves, mustard and nigella seeds until they pop and crisp. Remove from the heat and set aside. Blend the coconut, chilli, coriander, tamarind, lime juice, sugar, salt and pepper with a stick blender or small food processor until smooth. Add the fried spices and mix to combine.

To make the steamed rice cakes, rinse the