In this Indian cuisine, eggplant—an item that is sometimes overlooked in kitchens—is used. However, give it a go! You will adore it, I’m certain.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 3 cups |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 (1 1/4 pound) eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, crushed
- ½ teaspoon kalonji (onion seed)
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 green chile pepper, seeded and chopped
- ¼ cup tomato puree
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Heat the 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet, and fry eggplant pieces until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the skillet and set aside; wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.
- Heat the 6 tablespoons oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Stir in the cumin, fenugreek, kalonji, and sesame seeds, and cook until the cumin turns golden, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat; stir in the ginger and garlic, and cook for a few seconds. Stir in the onions and green chile pepper, and continue to cook and stir until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes.
- Stir the tomato puree, chili powder, coriander, turmeric, and salt into the onions. Cook and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until the oil separates. Stir in the cooked eggplant; cover and simmer until eggplant is tender, about 5 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk; stir until blended and heated through. Sprinkle with cilantro leaves.
- Kalonji (nigella seeds) are also called onion seeds because of their flavor, and are found in Asian grocery stores in small packets. These small, pointy black seeds are from a flower related to the garden flower love-in-a-mist.
Reviews
Served it over brown rice. I would say it served 3 as a main dish. Served with a side of tomato wedges. Great addition. I liked it VERY much. Almost a 5. It probably would have reached the 5 IF I had all of the ingredients. I was missing the fenugreek, the onions seeds, and the green chili pepper. I substituted about 1TBS minced onion and 3 shishitos plus 1/8 tsp red chili flakes. It needs more spice than I put in. You need to be in the mood to be active in the kitchen for an hour. The cooking time is supervised. It took us a little longer than estimated. I cooked the eggplant about 10 mins and the onions almost 20 mins, raising the temp from a medium low to a slightly high medium to achieve the golden color and I should have probably gone to 10 mins for the final simmer to finish cooking the eggplant. I did 8 mins. Turned out great. I will enjoy serving to my gluten free (celiac) vegetarian son.
This dish is absolutely delicious. It’s my first time trying an Indian dish but love Indian food. Added cut up baby bella mushrooms with the eggplant to make it a bit heartier. It turned out fabulous. Omitted a few of the Indian spices this time but it true to the recipe for the most part. Serve over rice or any grain — fabulous!
This was so good. I didn’t have kalanji, so used 1/4 dried minced onion to sub. Also doubled the tomato purée and added about a tablespoon of tomato paste. I’m happy I found this to expand my eggplant and Indian repertoire.
Thank you.. That was really yummy. I added a pinch of sugar to cut out the bitterness from the tomato. I’ll make it again ??
Amazing! I did what others suggested and made extra sauce, so I adjusted spices accordingly. This our new favorite eggplant recipe.
Great base recipe! I took the advice of others here and added more crushed tomatoes and coconut milk. This is exactly what I needed in my life right now and forevermore. I served this with fine leftover biryani rice and it is a magnificent combination.
Great base recipe! I took the advice of others here and added more crushed tomatoes and coconut milk. This is exactly what I needed in my life right now and forevermore. I served this with fine leftover biryani rice and it is a magnificent combination.
I made this dish and it turned very, very delicious.
My husband and I both did not like this recipe. Will not make again. I cannot even explain why we didn’t like it. I love Indian food. I am trying to find other ways to cook eggplant besides Rattatouie.
absolutely hands down, fabulous
I love this recipe and have been making it for years. I admit, like many other reviewers, I don’t use all the appropriate spices, but I make do with what I have. I highly recommend for anyone about to make this is try their best to use fenugreek though, as it really gives this dish a wonderful flavor. I also always use an entire can of coconut milk, not just the half cup as listed in the recipe. I always eat this dish with basmati rice. The whole meal comes together really quickly given how complex the flavors are; it tastes like something that would take hours.
Yum! My eggplant was very large, and once I added onion (1 1/2) and tomatoes (1 can diced), this made quite a bit more than I expected. Which was good, because I took it with my lunches all week! Subbed onion powder for onion seed and only used 1/4 cup coconut milk, as I needed the rest of the can for another recipe. Tasty addition to my Indian recipe collection!
Really tasty and enjoyable, even if you are not a vegetarian
Very tasty. I didn’t have the onion seed. I added some onion powder but not sure if it’s anywhere near similar flavor. I followed the recipe and it came our very well. I was just looking for someplace to try the fenugreek spice I happened to buy. Wow, what a great result!
I substituted 1 cup of fresh tomatoes purée mixed with paste, 2 table spoons of honey, squeeze of lemon and 1/4 cup of vegetable broth.
This was really good, even my husband who doesn’t care for eggplant liked it. I also increased the tomato and coconut milk and added urad dahl just because I love the texture it gives. I peeled the eggplant as well and served over brown rice. Thanks for the tips and thanks for the recipe. I’ll def be making again in the near future!
This was not good. The quantity of onion overwhelmed everything else.
The sauce was great, but my eggplant turned out spongy and watery. Could be it was not a great eggplant – but TBH I always have trouble with eggplant. Why do I keep buying them? The sauce could have used a bit more heat, and I think I didn’t season it quite enough. I added some jarred coriander chutney and pickled garlic from the Indian grocery, and it was perfect.
Fantastic. I added a bit more spice than suggested and had to substitute flavored oils/spices for the seeds, but it was so delicious regardless. I wish I could rate this 100 stars.
Loved the flavor! I did not have coconut milk, kalonji or a chili pepper; it’ll probably taste a lot better with those ingredients. 6 tablespoons is a little over a 1/3 cup of oil – quite a lot. I had to use a slotted spoon to serve it. I used more eggplant than called for, and even used 2 celery stalks, leftover from a different eggplant recipe hoping they would be coated and use some oil. Still pretty oily. Is it supposed to be that way, or did I miss something? I am not at all familiar with Indian cooking.(I switched to olive oil – I figured if I was using that much, it might as well be something “healthier.”) I’m definitely making it again, though – my neighbor has a bumper crop of eggplants this year!
I had sesame, but not the other seeds, so I added about 1/2 tsp. of ground cumin. I used 1cup of light coconut milk and pureed two ripe tomatoes to make 1 cup as others suggested. I also salted, rinsed, then lightly brushed my eggplant slices with olive oil and cooked in the oven at 400 degrees, turning halfway to save some calories. My husband and I really enjoyed this over rice.