Baingan Cholay Masala: Aubergine and chickpea curry

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 2 medium onions, finely sliced
• 2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste (see below)
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 medium aubergine, cut into 2.5cm cubes
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• Salt, to taste
• 200g tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, plus extra to garnish

Method

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy-based saucepan and fry the onions over a high heat until soft – about 5 minutes.
• Add the ginger-garlic paste and tomato puree and fry until mushy. Add the chilli.
• Cool slightly, and then transfer the mixture to a blender and blitz to a smooth puree with a few tablespoons water, if necessary.
• Wipe out the pan and use it to heat the remaining tablespoon oil. Add the aubergine and powdered spices and stir-fry for 1 minute to coat the aubergine in the oil and spices.
• Add the mixture from the blender and season with salt.
• Pour in 100ml water and bring to the boil, stirring all the time.
• Add the chickpeas, and then reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the aubergine is tender.
• Garnish with fresh coriander.

Ginger-garlic paste

• To make ginger-garlic paste, you will need one part fresh root ginger to one and a half parts garlic.
• Never peel ginger because the medicinal part lies just beneath the skin - simply scrape it gently with a knife.
• Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves and combine them with the ginger in a blender.
• Blitz to make a smooth puree with a few tablespoons of water.

Extracted from: Healthy Indian In Minutes Monisha Bharadwaj (Kyle Cathie, £14.99) with photography by Georgia Glynn-Smith.