Thai Eggplant and Lentil Curry

I use the term 'curry' loosely - It's more of a lentil stew, or dal, with curry powder in it.

The suprising thing about lentils is, how little you have to use to make a cheap and healthy meal. I used just half a cup of yellow lentils.

I had a small packet of Thai brinjal (eggplant/aubergines) that was starting to wilt. And since I'd never tastes these tiny brinjals - and the packet did warn me they'd be "surprisingly pungent and bitter", what better way to try out a new ingredient than using it up in a familiar curry dish?!

These brinjals are ridiculously small - more like green peas. But if you cut one open, you see the same innards as a full sized brinjal. (Yes, that is the blade of my knife - they really are that small)

But if you don't find them, you can use your regular brinjal, or even peas! These little babies are suprisingly spicy with a really bitter aftertaste. Good thing I refrained from adding an additional green chilli to my curry, as was previously planned. Would I try them again? Well, let's just say they were different.

Thai Brinjal and Lentil Curry

Ingredients

• 1 cup thai brinjal
• 1/2 cup yellow lentils
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 tomato
• 2-3 stalks of fresh garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
• Teaspoon of sugar
• Handful of coriander
• Half a lime

To make:

Chop your tomatoes, onion, and garlic finely.

Cook the lentils in 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt and the curry powder for about 15-20 minutes. If you have the time, presoak the lentils for a couple of hours before cooking.

Add the brinjal, onion, and garlic to the lentils. Add more water in case it's getting too dry. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the chilli flakes and the sugar. Finally, add the tomatoes, and coriander before turning off the gas.

Squeeze the lime juice and serve with plain rice or with chapatis (as I did).

Curious about Curry

Ok, I am a curry virgin! I've had plenty to eat - how can you not, in curry-heaven India. But never attempted to make it myself. It just seems like an arduous process of grinding up spices and waiting on a pot to simmer and boil.

But I had some coconut cream left over from yesterday's ice cream, and had some starting-to-wilt pak choi that I wanted to finish off. So, a spicy coconut curry it is!

The green chutney used is just coriander, a little chilli and some coconut all ground up. The chilli paste, on the other hand is just blistering hot green chillies ground up.

Coconut Curry with Pak Choi, Peppers and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut cream
• 1 tomato
• 1 green pepper
• 2-3 cups of pak choi
• 1/2 an onion
• 2 tablespoons chilli paste
• 2 tablespoons green chutney
• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar
• Teaspoon of coconut oil
• 1 cup water

To make:

• Chop up the tomatoes, pak choi, onion, and peppers into bite sized portions.
• In a wok, heat the oil and saute the onions.
• Add the chilli paste and green chutney paste.
• Add the coconut cream and the water after a couple of minutes and see that no lumps are formed.
• Let it simmer away for 15-20 minutes.
• Have a taste test - if its too hot, add sugar to temper it down.
• Add the chopped veggies and turn off the gas.
• Let the veggies soak in the curry for 5-10 minutes.
• Serve with plain boiled rice.