I have often said that Indian cuisine is one of my favorites but, like any country, that statement is way too simple. Every country comprises myriad regional cuisines based on climate, natural resources, proximity to oceans or mountains or plains, responsive to religious and cultural factors, and — of course — proximity to trade routes.
Today, I’m sharing a South Indian Eggplant Curry recipe. This has become one of our most favorite curries from the southern region of India. When looking at many spices and ingredients in this curry, it makes me think of the amazing confluence of spice trading that made this curry possible.
With the help of Markipedia, I can tell you that some of the spices were native to India: black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and turmeric. But what would this particular dish be without Kashmiri chile (México, in spite of the name), cloves (Indonesia), coriander/cilantro (Southern Europe), asafetida (Southwest Asia), cumin (the Levant — eastern Mediterranean), mustard seeds (Mediterranean), ginger (China), coconut (Pacific Islands), and tomatoes (Central America)?
Just imagine the millennia it took for all these flavors to cross paths in one place to make this beautiful curry. While the word “globalization” tends to imply homogenization, I am in awe of the globalization of ingredients and their transformation in localized cuisines. What would India be without cumin or coconut? Or Italy without tomatoes, polenta, or risotto? A French ratatouille without eggplant or zucchini? Or our good old American apple pie without apples, cinnamon, or sugar? It fairly boggles the mind. Obviously, it is a good thing to share what we have with others.
~ David
South Indian Eggplant Curry
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 medium eggplants (2 pounds)
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- 20 curry leaves, fresh (or frozen)
- 1 onion, thinly sliced from pole to pole
- 1 large pinch asafetida
- 1/4 cup freshly grated tomatoes
- 2-inch piece of ginger, coarsely grated
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup coconut milk
- yogurt, for serving
- cooked jasmine rice, for serving
- cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Line two trays with parchment/baking paper. Cut eggplants into 3/4-inch slices, then cut into 3/4-inch batons. Place in large bowl, toss with the ¼ cup vegetable oil, and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Divide among the two trays and roast 20 minutes. Turn the pieces using tongs and roast for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- While the eggplant is cooking, mix together the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, Kashmiri chile powder, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Set the curry spices aside.
- Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pot over medium heat. When very hot, add mustard seeds,
- let them cook for 15 seconds. Add curry leaves, stir, leave to cook an additional 15 seconds.
- Add onions and cook 5 minutes until golden brown. Add in the asafetida and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the ginger and cook until fragrant, but not burned — 1 to 2 minutes, then add grated tomato and let cook for 1 minute. Add the reserved curry spices and 1 teaspoon salt. The mixture will seize up and become hard to stir. If too thick, add a splash of water or a bit more tomato, if you have it.
- Stir in water, and then add the eggplant, stirring it gently as not to break it up. Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in coconut milk, and taste for seasoning.
- Serve with basmati rice and a dollop of yogurt and cilantro.
- Serves 4.
© 2024 Copyright Cocoa & Lavender
Adapted from Recipe Tin Eats
John / Kitchen Riffs
June 26, 2021 at 7:30 amI like Indian food quite a bit, although my cooking style tends to be more northern than southern. Although it’s the rich, fiery flavors of the south that I find most appealing! I guess it’s because most of the cookbooks I’ve read were written by cooks from the north, so that style stuck. This is a great looking dish — my kind of flavors exactly. Must make, and soon. Thanks!
David Scott Allen
June 26, 2021 at 8:25 amI must admit, John, that I gravitate to the Southern traditions as they tend not to use garlic (religious reasons). But I also love making North Indian food and just leaving it out! That’s where the asafetida comes in handy!
Fran @ G'day Souffle
June 26, 2021 at 7:31 amWow, I can just smell the aroma of all these wonderful spices! I didn’t realize that there was such a melange of ingredients that originally came from other countries. This dish does look stunning!
David Scott Allen
June 26, 2021 at 8:26 amWhen we really think of it, Fran, our culinary lives would be very dull without the spice trade!
Andrea
June 26, 2021 at 7:58 amDear David, what a wealth of flavors and textures – I can only imagine how delicious your South Indian Eggplant Curry must be.
And, of course, a picture perfect presentation. Loving all your props, the tablecloth, the forks and the bowls
Hope that the temperatures have dropped a bit to make life more agreeable!
Liebe Gruesse aus dem sonnigen Bonn,
Andrea
David Scott Allen
June 26, 2021 at 8:28 amHello, dear Andrea! The temperatures have receded a bit but are still in the mid-40°C range daily… but we are doing fine! Thanks for the kind comment on the props! I had fun putting this together. Liebe Grüße, d
Gerlinde de Broekert
June 26, 2021 at 8:45 amDavid, what a beautiful dish and all those different spices. A great combination of flavors. Your posts are always a pleasure to look at and informative. Have a great week.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 29, 2021 at 6:43 amThanks so much, Gerlinde! I love all the spices used in Indian cuisine!
sippitysup
June 26, 2021 at 3:17 pmYes. It’s a good thing to share with others and I’m glad you shared this with us. GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
June 29, 2021 at 6:44 amSharing is caring, Greg!
Eha
June 26, 2021 at 4:56 pmLooking at your ingredient list I would guess the origin of this delight to be Kerala, the ‘spice state’ in the SW of the country, one of the most delightful areas for the sub-continent’s cuisine for me ! Few people unacquainted with its cooking realize that more than 20,000 different recipes can be differentiated in its cuisines alone – indeed Indians laugh at the originally British generic term ‘curry’ !!! Personally I have always been partial to the dishes of the SW such as the beautiful vegetarian one you have selected and also appreciate those coming from the central hills ‘next door’. ! To those ‘new’ to using some of the delightful spices may I suggest you do not omit hing powder or asafoetida with any of the vegetarian dishes you try . . . incredible boost to the flavour for just a tad extra . . . beautiful, David !!!
Cocoa & Lavender
June 29, 2021 at 6:47 amPrepared “curry powder” is something I rarely use, and certainly not for anything Indian. No, I generally use it only for British or European dishes (Coronation Chicken Salad and Curry Wurst). A true curry isn’t the spice blend but the entire process. Southern Indian cuisine is also a favorite of mine because of the non-use (in many parts) of garlic. Sadly, that tradition is waning because of Western influence.
Eha
June 29, 2021 at 4:48 pm*laughing* You know I have never had a chance to try the famous ‘curry wurst’ which, I believe, is now available way outside its Berliner origins !! I have actually tried ‘Coronation chicken” hardly ‘Indian’ . . . the UK after all is full of Anglo-Indian cooking !!! My own little ‘fusion’ is to mash hard-boiled egg with yogurt and ‘prepared’ curry [powder and pile it on wholemeal toast for breakfast . . . . quite like it but do not call it ‘curried’ !!!
Cocoa & Lavender
June 30, 2021 at 12:23 pmI rather like curry wurst… but I love the sound of your egg-yogurt-curry powder mash! Yum!
Chef Mimi
June 27, 2021 at 6:55 amWonderful. I remember reading ages ago about the movement of spices and ingredients to the cape of Good Hope. It’s still amazing that in South Africa you have Dutch cookies! But I’m not familiar with how the melange of spices came to India. Thank goodness for Markipedia! Love this dish. I’ll take Indian food from every household in every region.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 29, 2021 at 6:49 amYou and me both, Mimi – India has so many great cuisines and they are so divers! The eating of pork and beef, for example… it is said that the number of people who eat both could make up a new country… There was a day I would have thought that no pork or beef was consumed in India!
Christina Conte
June 27, 2021 at 11:15 amIt’s so funny when I look at a proper Indian recipe and see 25 ingredients and think, “This must be great”! However, if it’s an Italian recipe, I’m already gone! Haha! So true about all the mixing and trading of foods around the world! Just amazing.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 29, 2021 at 6:51 amI always say that, Christina! 5 ingredients for Italian, 55 for Indian!
sherry
June 27, 2021 at 8:19 pmoh i adore eggplant and i love lots of spices. how lucky we are these days to have so many different foods available to us. this looks great david. Hurrah for the spice trade and hurrah for the transport of food globally …
Cocoa & Lavender
June 29, 2021 at 6:51 amI think that all the time, Sherry – how lucky we are to just go to a store and get almost anything we want! Truly blessed…
Karen (Back Road Journal)
June 28, 2021 at 11:29 amYour eggplant curry sounds fantastic. I believe that I can use substitutes for some of the hard to find ingredients. While the curry might not be the same, I’m sure it would still be flavorful.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 29, 2021 at 6:52 ami think you will do well using substitutes, Karen — let me know how it comes out.
Jeff the Chef
June 29, 2021 at 7:30 amGood Lord, what a list of ingredients! This must be such an interesting curry.
Nice read, too. Thanks! It is curious, isn’t it, to think that something like tomato, which is so closely related to Italian cooking, isn’t native to Italy! It does make sense, though, when you consider that when you think of Italian cuisine, you’re probably not thinking, “What did Italians eat in the 1300’s?” On the other hand, how often are we ever wondering about recipes from the 1400’s, or 1500’s? That’s the timeframe for tomatoes becoming established in Italy, so it’s been part of their culture for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 30, 2021 at 12:18 pmNerds that we are, Jeff, we did at one point do a lot of research into Renaissance cuisine in Italy and it was amazing how sweet spices (sugar, cinnamon and cloves, for example) were used in “savory” dishes. It is really fascinating to try the old recipes – which are really quite good.
This recipe does have quite the list of ingredients – most easy enough to find. The hardest thing, in many climates, is finding fresh curry leaves. Luckily they are abundant here in Arizona (in the Indian grocery stores…)
Raymund
June 29, 2021 at 3:58 pmThat curry sure packs a lot of amazing flavours, I love Indian cuisine regardless of what region they are in India. The spices used just makes it all happen
Cocoa & Lavender
June 30, 2021 at 12:18 pmI am with you, Raymund – ANY Indian cuisine at ANY time!
2pots2cook
July 5, 2021 at 2:42 amBeautiful words David ! How great it is to share, indeed ! Namaste 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
July 10, 2021 at 10:01 amI think the sharing aspect of the blogging community is my favorite part, Davorka.
John
July 5, 2021 at 3:22 amThat list of ingredients would deter so many people, but I have every one of them in my pantry, and I am not deterred. Oh, except I don’t have the fresh curry leaves. The curry tree I planted is still in the front yard of the house we sold in Sydney. Maybe I need to drive down there and pick a few sprigs!
Cocoa & Lavender
July 10, 2021 at 10:02 amIf you can get a few sprigs, just put them in a bowl with a few drops of oil, toss and put on a baking sheet in the freezer. When good and frozen, put in a container and you will have really decent curry leaves all year.
Valentina
July 8, 2021 at 11:45 amThis dish looks and sounds incredible. And yes, sharing with others is the best. I love this, David. 🙂 ~Valentina
Cocoa & Lavender
July 10, 2021 at 10:03 amIsn’t sharing fun? I’m so grateful for all the great tips you have shared with me (us) throughout the years!
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
July 21, 2021 at 7:40 pmSo a regional dish with international overtones! Sounds lovely David!
Cocoa & Lavender
July 23, 2021 at 8:03 amI know – funny, isn’t it?
Pauline
July 29, 2021 at 3:23 pmJust found this recipe David, and I love the combination of spices you have used. What a delicious way to eat eggplant. Thanks so much, Pauline
Judee
August 13, 2021 at 8:00 amI also enjoy Indian cuisine and especially all of the exotic spices. I love the cardamom they frequently use in recipes and their desserts.