Since receiving Sheil Shukla’s KARI, I’ve made a few versions of this tikka masala curry sauce with different vegetables, chickpeas, and tofu as the centerpiece. In this recipe, I combine that inspiration with an excellent eggplant roasting technique from The New York Times. They were made for each other! You’ll need about an hour total to get this warming and deeply flavorful eggplant curry on the table. It’s a nice Sunday night-style vegan dinner. The crisp edges on the eggplant with the silky sauce is heavenly!
Usually I’m all about salting eggplant for at least 20 minutes before cooking. Most of my recipes utilize this technique. Last year, I tried the NYT roasting method with mega hot oven heat, taking the slices to just one or two minutes away from burning. It works a treat! Perfectly crisp and tender at the same time. I use less oil than their recipe and for this eggplant curry in particular, I changed up the spices to reflect the contents of the sauce.
Cashews give this sauce its silky texture without dairy. No need for soaking! They simmer with the sauce base before blending, which softens them up. Since this sauce is blended, you don’t have to be overly precious about your onion chopping either.
Sheil’s recipe calls for canned tomatoes, but since I have tons in the garden, I’m using fresh. Going this route also means pulling back on the amount of water needed to blend the sauce up until smooth. Beyond a few spice change ups and a reduction in garlic, I stay true to his instructive technique. I strongly recommend grabbing the cookbook if you can!
The sauce can keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in a sealed container if you’d like to meal prep for an easier weeknight meal later on. I generally serve this fluffy and warm brown rice on the side.
Roasted Eggplant Curry with Chickpeas (Vegan)
Ingredients
Curry Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-inch piece piece ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon ground chilies, or to taste (see note)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 lb (454 grams) fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
- ⅔ cup raw cashews
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
Eggplant & Chickpeas
- 3-4 small eggplants, about 1 ½ lbs/680 grams (I used “little finger” eggplant here)
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch ground chilis (see note)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
For Serving
- warm rice
- chopped cilantro
Equipment
- Blender
Notes
- This recipe was directly inspired by Sheil Shukla’s Tikka Masala sauce in KARI and The NYT’s roasted eggplant technique.
- I always try to present the recipe steps in the clearest way possible, hence the separation of the curry sauce and the eggplant. However, to get your timing lined up better for dinner, I recommend preheating the oven when you start the curry sauce and then prepping the eggplant/getting it roasting after you’ve added the cashews to the curry sauce.
- Ground chilies are not the same thing as conventional chili powder. I use the Guntur Sannam Chilies from Diaspora Co–they have heat with smoky, tomato-y notes.
- I know there’s a lot of oil in this recipe! To get the gorgeous browning and silky texture on the eggplant, you do need it.
- I’m not going for a crispy chickpea thing here. I just wanted to get some flavor on the chickpeas and to dry them out a little bit.
Instructions
Make the curry sauce
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once hot, pour in the olive oil.
- Add the onions and cook until completely soft, translucent, and lightly browned, stirring often. This should take 7-8 minutes. Lower the heat if the onions are browning too fast.
- Season the onions with salt and pepper. Then, add the coriander, cumin, and fennel seeds. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the garlic and ginger. Keep stirring and cooking for 30 seconds or so. Don’t let the garlic burn! Add the ground chilies, paprika, and turmeric. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and keep stirring for about a minute or so, just to cook out the raw flavor.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and continue to cook until they let off some moisture and break down, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the cashews and water and stir. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pop a lid on top and bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or so, uncovered, until the cashews soften and plump up.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the garam masala. Allow to cool slightly.
- Transfer the entire contents of the pot to an upright, high speed blender. Blend on high speed until completely smooth. From here, you can add more water if you’d like a looser consistency. It should be pour-able but thick and luxurious. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
- Pour the sauce back into the pot and keep it warm with a lid on top.
Roast the eggplant & chickpeas
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and line one large and one small baking sheet with parchment.
- I like to peel “stripes” off of the eggplant. Cut off the stem end and bottom ends. From there, cut the eggplant into ¾-inch slices. Spread the cut eggplant on the large baking sheet, flat sides facing down.
- In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, ground chilis, salt, and pepper. Brush almost half of this mixture on the eggplant. Flip the eggplant over and brush the other side, reserving 1 tablespoon of the spice oil for the chickpeas.
- Roast the eggplant for 20 minutes. Then, flip the eggplant pieces over. Toss the chickpeas with the remaining spice oil, and scatter onto the smaller baking sheet. Roast eggplant and chickpeas for another 10-20 minutes or until eggplant is deep golden brown and crisp and chickpeas have turned a bit golden.
Assemble
- Ladle 1 cup of the curry sauce into a serving bowl. Top with ¼ of the roasted eggplant and chickpeas. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with warm rice.
This looks and sounds like a delicious recipe. Do you think I could use sunflower seeds instead of cashew??
Thanks