Baingan Aloo Methi in Coastal Korma Curry 

Kitchen Equipments Required – chopping board, knife, grinder, heavy bottom pan with lid, stirring spoon.

Ingredients 

Baby eggplants – 8, cut into quarters

Potatoes – 3 small, cut into quarters

Methi / Fenugreek leaves – 1/4 cup, washed cleaned and picked from the stems. You may use 1&1/2 tbsp of dried methi leaves.

Spices to Temper 

Oil – 1 tsp

Black Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Asafetida / hing – pinch

Turmeric – 1/2 tsp

Red chili powder – 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Jaggery or Brown sugar – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Note – Salt, red chilli powder, garam masala and jaggery amounts can be adjusted to the personal taste. I like balanced flavors so my spicing is medium.

Spices to roast and grind into paste

Peanuts – 1/4 cup

Dry coconut – 1/4 cup

Sesame seeds – 2 tbsp

Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Red chillies whole, dry – 2

Method

Spice Paste

1. Take a heavy bottom pan. Dry roast all the ingredients given under the list of “spices to roast and grind”, in a heavy bottom pan. 

2. You may dry roast them separate or together. Make sure that they are roasted on lowest flame and till they are slightly pink. Do not brown the spices. 

3. Cool them to the room temperature. Grind them in the grinder to a thick paste by adding 1-2 tbsp of water. Set the paste aside.

Preparing the curry

1. Heat oil in the heavy bottom pan. Add asafetida and mustard seeds and reduce the flame. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add turmeric and red chili powder.

2. Now add the quartered baby eggplants, baby potatoes, methi/fenugreek leaves and salt to the pan. Sauté them in the spices for about 4-5 minutes. 

3. Pour the prepared ground spice paste to the pan. Stir well. Add jaggery and garam masala to the pan. Stir again. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of water and stir again.

4. Cover and cook the curry over medium low flame for about 15 minutes. Stir ocassionally.

5. Do the spoon lick test, adjust your salt, garam masala or brown sugar, if required! 

Notes

1. The consistency of curry is a state of personal choice. You may make it as thick or as thin. 

2. This curry can be eaten with rice or served with flat breads.

3. To make it diabetic friendly, you can skip potatoes and brown sugar. The potatoes used are not fried, so a piece of it will not harm. Actually, the studies have shown that diabetics can include starch rich foods but in controlled portion.

4. This is a gluten free curry.