Vindaloo Eggplant

Ingredients (Serves 6)

• ½ jar Latasha’s Kitchen Vindaloo Masala Paste
• 4 tbsp yoghurt or coconut cream
• 3 tbsp rice bran oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 sprigs curry leaves, torn
• Water as required
• 1 kg diced eggplant – use the purple and white striped eggplant
• 1 tbsp jaggery or raw sugar
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• Salt to taste

Garnish

• Sprig of curry leaves
• 1 tbsp melted ghee
• Lemon juice (optional)

Method

1. Heat oil in a well-seasoned heavy cast pot until hot. Then add the cinnamon stick, curry leaves and Latasha’s Kitchen Vindaloo Masala Paste and slowly heat up. Add ½ cup water and cook gently for 5 minutes.
2. Next add in the yoghurt and turn the vindaloo paste into a sauce. Keep stirring the mixture continually to distribute heat evenly and to prevent burning. This will take about 10 minutes.
3. Add eggplant, mix well to coat evenly and season with salt. Cover with a lid and simmer on a gentle heat until the eggplant is cooked and tender, approx. 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size. Be sure to stir 15 every minutes.
4. When the eggplant is cooked, add the vinegar mixed with the crushed jaggery and bring the heat back up to thicken the juices.
5. Garnish with melted ghee and curry leaves.

HOW WE MAKE OUR VINDALOO MASALA PASTE

The concentrated paste used in the recipe above can be purchased from all good stockists or online. Here’s the how we make if for you in our kitchen using only the best fresh and imported ingredients and slow cooking them to perfection;

We start by crushing, mincing and dicing all our fresh Australian herbs and vegetables, delivered fresh from the local markets.

Once the ingredients are prepared, we put a large pan to the stove and add mustard oil, heating it until it’s smoking hot. We then add handfuls of curry leaves and a large amount of cinnamon, followed by onions, sea salt and butter. The onions caramelise quickly in the heat of the oil and the smell takes over the kitchen!

We add the rest of the fresh ingredients, including ginger and garlic to this delightfully pungent pan, along with Latasha’s secret mix of ground spices. Once these are combined completely we then add a balanced mix of vinegar, raw sugar and freshly made garam masala.

At this point, the air is thick and heavy with the aroma of onions, curry leaves, cinnamon and chilli. We can’t take our eyes of the paste for a second because it’s so thick. We simmer, stir, taste and repeat. Eventually the colour changes and salt and spice is adjusted until it’s perfect – knowing that the flavours will further mature once bottled.