Eggplant, Chickpea, and Spinach Curry

By the Gracious Vegan

Recipes with eggplant usually call for loads of oil. I used my broiling method to cook the eggplant with only light sprays on both sides. The rest of the recipe brings classic Indian spices and ingredients to the party for a delicious curry.

Makes 5 servings

Peel the eggplant and slice into 1/2” slices. Spray the slices with spray oil on both sides and lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet (lined with foil if you like; don’t use parchment paper, which can burn under the broiler). Heat the broiler to 500°or High with the top shelf 3-4” from the broiler element. Broil the slices until they are brown but not charred (check after 5 minutes). Then flip the slices over and broil for about 4 minutes until brown. When cool enough to handle, roughly chop.  

• 1 medium sized eggplant (1 - 1.25 pound)

Water-sauté the following ingredients in a Dutch oven until starting to brown. (What is water-sauté?)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped white, yellow, or red onion

• 1.5 Tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and minced 

• 5 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced

Add the following ingredients and stir for 1-2 minutes.

• 1 Tablespoon ground coriander

• 1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon paprika (regular, not sweet)

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 1/8 teaspoon each cayenne and black pepper

• 1/2 - 2 hot green chilies stemmed, seeded and finely minced (jalapenos for milder spiciness or slender green chilies for hotter)

Add the following ingredients, bring mixture to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover, and gently simmer for 20 minutes.

• The broiled eggplant pieces

• One 14-ounce can diced or petite diced chopped tomatoes

• One 16-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1/2 cup water

• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

• 1/2 Tablespoon salt

Add spinach and cook for 10 more minutes.

• One 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed (or 1 pound fresh spinach)

Before serving with rice, stir in final herb and spice. 

• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

Timing: Hands-on time 30 minutes; total time 55 minutes         

Nutritional information per serving (with 1/2 cup brown rice): 240 calories, 1g fat, 0g sat. fat, 44g carbs, 933mg sodium, 8g fiber, 9g protein

Gluten-free