One of our favorite meals to make.


Smoky Spiced Eggplant
1 lb eggplants
1 red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, chopped
1 green chili, chopped
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala (recipe below)
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 ripe tomatoes
3-4 tbs cilantro

Scorch the eggplants by holding them over a medium gas flame. Keep turning them until the skin is blackened on all sides. Set aside until cool, then peel off charred skin. Roughly chop the flesh.
Combine the onion, garlic, ginger, and chili in a blender and process until chopped, but not a paste.

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add onoin mixture and cook until slightly browned. Add all the spices and salt and pepper, stir for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomato and simmer until liquid has reduced.
Put the eggplants in the pan and mash with a wooden spoon, stirring around with the spices. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the eggplants are soft.

Stir in chopped cilantro and season with salt to taste. Serve with naan and basmati rice.

Garam Masala

8 cardamom pods
2 indian bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 inch piece of cinnamon stick
1 tsp cloves

Remove seeds from the cardamom pods. Break the bay leaves into small pieces. Put them in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar with remaining spices and grind to a fine powder.

We store ours in an airtight container in our fridge.