Creamy eggplant, sweet peppers, ginger, garlic and onions all cooked together with tomatoes and spices makes this dish a wonderful vegetable curry to have with chaptis or tortillas. This outstanding eggplant and pepper curry is a dish I had at my friend Padmini’s home for dinner one day 😋 when she had a few of her friends over.  The peppers and eggplant tasted so good together in this cirry that I asked Padmini for the recipe which she happily shared.  Here is the recipe courtesy of my friend Padmini. 

Padmini at dinner

Eggplant and Pepper Curry
recipe courtesy of Padmini

Ingredients:  Vegetables:

• 1 large eggplant or 3- 4 Japanese eggplants cut into small pieces
• 2 bell peppers cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 6 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 medium tomato finely chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish

Spices:

• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp asafoetida powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp tamarind pulp or juice of 1 lemon
• Salt
• Oil

Directions:

• In a pan heat 2 tbsp oil.  Add mustard seeds and let them pop. Add asafoetida powder, ginger, garlic, and onions and sauté until onions are translucent, about 2-3 minutes.

• Next dd turmeric, chili powder, and coriander powder and mix into the onion mixture.  Next add tomatoes and tamarind pulp and cook for 2- 3 minutes until tomatoes become tender and juicy.

• Add peppers and eggplant and mix in. Add salt and cook covered for 10-15 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. If the vegetables start sticking to the pan add a little bit of water to keep them moist. Once vegetables are cooked tender, turn the stove off.  If using lemon juice instead of tamarind pulp add the lemon juice at this time and mix into the vegetables.

• Add chopped cilantro for garnish and serve curry hot with rice or chapatis, or serve as a side dish.