Baked and Curried Eggplant

If you are some one who loves tangy foods, you will love this curry. If you don't like sour so much, skip the tamarind paste. It's cold here, and this curry on rice tasted very good! It was not Jord's favorite when he first started eating it, since he is not a fan of sour taste, but the curry grew on him, and he liked it, for he ate a whole big plateful of it.

Step 1: Cut the eggplant as shown above and apply spice paste inside and out. Make the spice paste using
2 tbs coriander powder, 1/4 tsp cumin powder, 1/4 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1 tbs oil and 2tbs water.

Step 2: Bake the curried eggplants at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Step 3: In a pan fry 1/2 tsp of toor dal (type of lentil), 1/4 tsp of coriander seeds, 1/4 tsp black mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds in 1 tsp olive oil. If you don't have these spices, skip them. Add oil to the pan and go to the next step.

Step 4: Add 1 finely chopped medium onion and saute till onions brown slightly.

Step 5: Add 2 tbs of tomato paste. We ran out of tomatoes today and hence I used tomato paste. Feel free to use 3 fresh ripe tomatoes here.

Step 6: Cook on medium-high heat the tomato paste for about 3-4 minutes and then add the following spices: 2 tbs coriander powder, 1/4 tsp chilli powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp cumin powder. Mix the spices well.  If you use fresh tomatoes, let the tomatoes cook well and then add the spices.

Step 7: Add 1/3 cup of coconut milk lite and 1/2 tsp of tamarind paste. Mix well. (You can find tamarind paste at a Mexican or an Asian grocery store).

Step 8: Add 2 cups of lukewarm water and let the curry come to a boil.

Step 9: Add the curried and baked eggplants to the gravy and let the curry simmer for about 15 minutes on low-medium heat. Add 2 tbs of cilantro, if you have any and serve over hot rice.