A Gujarati dish which celebrates the silkily smooth smokiness of roast aubergines cooked with a heady amount of garlic … like the Irani Mirza Ghasemi.
Ingredients
- Aubergines – 3 large (roasted and peeled as here)
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp asafoetida (optonal)
- 1 large onion
- 8 cloves garlic
- 3 green chillis
- 5-6 medium tomatoes (or a tin)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 250g spinach – I use frozen, but fresh baby leaf spinach would be better?
- salt
- fresh coriander to garnish
Method
- Roast the aubergines, allow to cool, peel, and chop roughly with a fork.
- Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds (and asafoetida, if using); cook for a minute, then add the chopped onion. Cook on a medium heat until golden – maybe 10 minutes.
- Add the chopped garlic and chillis – cook for another couple of minutes
- Add all the other ingredients – except for the aubergine and spinach. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until the oil starts to separate from the tomatoes.
- Chop the aubergine flesh roughly, and add to the tomato sauce with the spinach; cook for about 5 minutes – you want the spinach wilted and any excess water to evaporate.
- Serve with an appropriate bread and a simple salad.
- Any leftovers? Excellent for next day’s breakfast with a poached egg on top!
