Simple Vegan Eggplant Chickpea Curry

by amvandenhurk | Curry, Dinner, Indian, Meatless Mondays, Vegan, Vegetarian

Vegan Eggplant Chickpea Curry

Chickpeas are one of my favorite ingredients. And I adore eggplant. Put them together with a curry base and you have eggplant chickpea curry. Pretty good, right?

The base of a curry varies. This curry is tomato-based with ground cumin, yellow curry powder, ground turmeric, garam masala, and salt with a little water added to create paste. From there you can add various vegetables or meat to it as well as broth or water.

People are often afraid of cooking Indian or other Asian food. They are afraid of all the spices. They should not be. Once you have the basic ingredients such as ground cumin, yellow curry powder, ground turmeric, and garam masala in your pantry then you can create a diverse meal of dishes. Indian and Asian spices are now becoming common in many supermarket chain’s spice aisles such as Food Lion. I would suggest if you are going to make a lot of Indian or Asian dishes that you find an Asian grocery store. For me, I need to travel between 60 to 90 minutes to a good Asian grocery store, but it is worth it to get large quantities of spices for a lot cheaper than your local grocery store. Plus, it is a wonderful cultural experience.

Need other dishes? Try my recipe for Lazy Vegetable Korma or Slow Cooker Aloo Gobi.

Eggplant Chickpea Curry

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes, draining some of the liquid beforehand
• 1 14.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• A bunch of cilantro leaves, chopped

Preparation

• Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
• Add the onion cooking until tender.
• Add the garlic cooking until fragrant.
• Stir in the cumin, curry, turmeric, garam masala, and salt, as well as a few tablespoons of water, mixing together and create a paste.
• Add the eggplant, tomatoes, chickpeas, and broth.
• Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce it to a simmer covering for 15 minutes.
• Uncover the curry and cook it for another 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced and the eggplant is soft.
• Add cilantro leaves.

Serves 4-6.

Serve with naan or rice. Or both.