Creamy Eggplant Stew
Preparation Time 40 minutes, Servings 10-12
This is a great creamy eggplant stew to serve with your favourite bread, potatoes, or whole grain rice. We show the stew served on a bed of mixed rice.
The secret to this recipe is finding and using a personal, preferred version of Garam Masala curry powder. Garam Masala is a blend of spices that vary not only by regions around the world but by spice distributors. According to Wikipedia, a typical Indian version of Garam Masala contains black and white peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon or cassia bark, mace (part of nutmeg), black, green cardamom pods, bay leaves, cumin, and coriander. In contrast to the Wiki version, The version we adore contains chilli, coriander, garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, bay leaves, clove, allspice, and salt. These are the ingredients according to the spice maker. One day, if we cannot find our preferred version in the grocery store we may spend countless hours in the kitchen trying to reproduce it. Hopefully, this day will never come.
- One medium to large size eggplant, or two smaller ones
- One onion
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 3 tablespoons of Garam Masala curry powder
- optional, 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes or more to personal taste
- Two cans of chickpeas, the cans will be 19 fluid ounces (ca. 540 ml) each. Drain the excess liquid from each can and discard or keep to use instead of water. If you choose to use the liquid from the can measure the amount to decide how much water to cut and do not add salt to your stew.
- 4 cups of water or vegetable broth
- optional A pinch of salt. Vegetable broth and the liquid of canned legumes like chickpeas include salt. For this reason, we recommend that you do not add salt to your eggplant stew until it is complete. You can taste the result and decide for yourself if you wish to use more the salt.
- One small can of tomato paste. The can will be a little over 5 fluid ounces (ca. 142 ml).
- 5 to 7 tablespoons of peanut butter or almond butter or Tahini
- Add a little freshly ground black pepper
- Optional, a chopped handful of chopped parsley
- Optional, add fresh curry leaves
- Optional, add a pinch or more of cayenne pepper to add more heat to the dish
- In a little water, cook the onions and garlic
- Add the water or broth and bring to a boil
- Chop the eggplant into cubes and add to the stew. Cook until soft but still retaining its shape.
- Add the chickpeas, salt, and 1 tablespoon of Garam Masala. There are many blends of Garam Masala, so we will add half now, taste later, and maybe add more.
- Cook the stew in a gentle boil for 20 minutes.
- Once the eggplant looks cooked well, you are ready to complete the stew, add your chosen nut butter and the tomato paste. Your stew should now be thick. Add a little water with the tomato paste if the consistency of the stew is too thick.
- Taste the stew, if you think it can use more Garam Masala then add the second spoon or more to your liking.
- Let the stew heat up to a gentle boil. Cook for three minutes.
- Take it off the stove and let it cool before serving.
- Optional, add the chopped parsley and green onions before serving
At serving, top with fresh green onions.
If you are planning to share your dish with guests, it is best not to add hot spices such as chilli or cayenne pepper. Instead, place them on the table and allow guests to add to the preferred “heat”.
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Wish to add a spicy component to your pantry try our 'Jess Hot Sauce'.
