Published: · Modified: by Vaishali · This post may contain affiliate links · 11 Comments
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Total time: 45 minutes minutes
This Eggplant in Peanut Curry Sauce is a perfect harmony of spicy, tangy, sweet and salty notes. The eggplant cooks to buttery softness in the creamy sauce. A vegan, gluten-free, soy-free recipe with no added oils.
If you have a kid -- or an adult -- around who will not eat eggplant, here's the recipe to make them fall in love.
I made my monthly trip to the Indian grocery store this past weekend and stocked my refrigerator with Indian veggies, like little, round, purple eggplants, spiky, bitter, delicious bitter gourds (karela), tiny, oval methi leaves, bright-green drumstick leaves, and leafy Malabar spinach.
Around here in Silver Spring, Maryland, there aren't that many Indian groceries, so I need to make the half-hour drive to Langley Park, Maryland, not far from the University of Maryland at College Park, my alma mater, to pick up the essentials. There's a Patel Brothers there that sells everything you could possibly need for Indian cooking, or even Indian living, although it probably is not on the scale of some of the huge Indian markets in areas of New Jersey, California, and even neighboring Virginia which have bigger Indian populations.
There are carom boards if you miss flicking the glossy, flat striker at the black and beige wooden coins with your forefinger and thumb. Those quaint little Indian brooms made of soft grass in case you just can't get used to the upright brooms sold here. Pudin Hara, a minty, stomach-curing potion. And wooden roti rolling boards and pins. I once found a curry leaf plant here that's now at home in my backyard.
Then there are all kinds of crunchy, deep-fried goodies sold in packets, like sev, chakli and gathiya, sweets like kaju katli and pista burfi and jalebi. There are even Indian cookies like Good Day and Parle Glucose biscuits. And there are, of course, the essentials: dozens of varieties of beans, lentils, spices, herbs, grains, poppadums and pickles. Large bags of rice and atta, the flour used by Indians to make roti and chapati flatbreads.
Jay always has a great time going grocery shopping at the Indian store, because it usually involves a stop for lunch at Woodlands, an Indian vegetarian restaurant in the same neighborhood, where he can get his fill of pani puri, pav bhaji and gulab jamuns. The Indian store itself is filled with more delights, especially when we get to the checkout counter where the cashier has a tray of hot samosas standing at his elbow.
As filled with junk food as our Indian grocery expeditions sound, we usually come home with a loot that helps keep us cooking and eating healthy food for days to come. Like this Eggplant in a Peanut Curry Sauce.
This is an oil-free recipe, but it tastes deceptively rich because it includes nuts, of course, and sesame seeds that add more creaminess. Tamarind paste adds tang and richness, and all you need for the spice component is turmeric, cayenne, and a couple of teaspoons of that ubiquitous Indian spice mix, garam masala.
I serve this curry with a very simple jeera rice or dill pilaf. With a poppadum on the side, you can't find a more delicious meal.
- Sri Lankan Eggplant Curry
- Smoky Roasted Eggplant Soup with Za'atar
- African Peanut Stew with Eggplant and Okra
- South Indian Eggplant Dal (Kootu)
- Eggplant Subzi with Peanuts
- Curry Roasted Eggplant
Eggplant in Peanut Curry Sauce, no oil recipe
This Eggplant in Peanut Curry Sauce is a perfect harmony of spicy, tangy, sweet and salty notes. The eggplant cooks to buttery softness in the creamy sauce. A vegan, gluten-free, soy-free recipe with no added oils.
5 from 6 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe SAVE RECIPE
Course: Main/Curry
Cuisine: Indian, Oil-Free, Soy-free
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 30 minutes mins
Total Time: 45 minutes mins
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 127kcal
Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan
Ingredients
- 12 small Indian eggplants (these are the small, round Indian eggplants. Cut into inch-long, thin slices. If you can't find this, Japanese eggplants would be a good substitute. To keep the eggplant slices from discoloring as you cut them, immerse them in water.)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 medium red onion (sliced thinly)
- 4 cloves garlic, (crushed and minced)
- 1-inch knob ginger (sliced thinly)
- 2 tablespoon cilantro
- ¼ cup raw peanuts
- 2 tablespoon cashew nuts
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (or jaggery)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Heat a large saucepan. Add the cumin seeds and onions to the pan with a pinch of salt and saute, stirring frequently, until the onions start to soften. Add the coriander leaves, ginger and garlic and continue to saute.
Add the peanuts, cashew nuts and sesame seeds and continue sauteing for five more minutes. Remove all the ingredients to a blender, add the tamarind paste and a cup of water, and blend to a smooth paste.
In the same saucepan, add the eggplants, salt, coriander powder, cayenne and turmeric. Mix well, turn heat to medium-low, and cover the saucepan with a tight lid. Pour some water over the lid if you have a lid that can hold it. This helps the eggplants cook without sticking to the pan. Stir every couple of minutes, until the eggplant is soft.
Add the peanut masala paste, kasoori methi, and salt to taste and mix well. Add water if the sauce looks dry. Cover and cook, stirring every few minutes to ensure nothing's sticking to the bottom of the pan, about 15 minutes.
Turn off heat and serve hot with rice.
Nutrition Facts
Eggplant in Peanut Curry Sauce, no oil recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
127
% Daily Value*
Fat
6
g
9
%
Saturated Fat
1
g
5
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
2
g
Monounsaturated Fat
3
g
Potassium
490
mg
14
%
Carbohydrates
17
g
6
%
Fiber
7
g
28
%
Sugar
10
%
Protein
4
g
8
%
Vitamin A
119
IU
2
%
Vitamin C
6
mg
7
%
Calcium
51
mg
5
%
Iron
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment and recipe rating below!
« Nepalese Tempeh Choila
Vegan Cherry Pie »
About Vaishali
Hi! I'm Vaishali, a journalist turned food blogger. At Holy Cow Vegan I share easy, tasty recipes made with clean, wholesome ingredients that the entire family can enjoy.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Karen
I made this last night and served it over rice. I was interested to see how different mine looked. My sauce, as it was (maybe I needed to add a bit of water) was brown, where your is very light. Even whirling in my ninja for a good while, the nuts were still a bit grainy, although so was the rice so it covered well for the texture. I’m wondering about starting with not butters, or soaking the nuts. The trick about water on the lid worked, although I can’t begin to reason why. I’ll just call it magic. The flavor was wonderful. As you said, layers! I’ll definitely make it again, perhaps trying one of my fixes, unless you have comments. I’ve learned some great tricks from you in a short time.Reply
Jennifer
Your post is making me think of all the yummy things I need to restock on for my next visit to an indian supermarket. The one near me closed *tears* but I know I am being spoiled since I live in South Jersey, near a fairly large Indian population. I just add 10 more minutes to my drive XD
Reply
Ellen Lederman
Thanks so much for this! My taste buds are still doing a happy dance hours later. It's better than similar dishes at Indian restaurants and of course dairy-free! Will be making this a lot. Served it with quinoa since we have been having a lot of rice and Dr. Greger just did a series on arsenic in rice (eek) and collard greens as a side dish. So easy to make. I also licked the last bit off the pan.I didn't see in the instructions when to put in the garam and sugar, so just put the garam in with the coriander and the sugar in at the end.
And I feel like an idiot for not understanding the instructions---you write so beautifully (I know you are a professional writer), but for the life of me, even after reading it multiple times and making my husband read it, we could not figure out the part about covering the pot but then putting water on top of the lid "if the lid can hold it." ????? Can you explain? I just added a little water to the pot as I cooked it. First time cooking eggplant without oil! It did well. Perhaps it helped to have such fresh, small eggplants.
Reply
Vaishali
Hi Ellen, so glad you liked it. I have also been hearing about the arsenic in rice, it's so hard to find anything safe to eat these days. I will add the garam masala and sugar-- they can both go in toward the end. And yes, that part about the lid and water is confusing. 🙂 Basically, you need a rimmed lid for your pot that can hold some water (like this one: -- unlike those curved lids where any water poured on top of the lid would just slide off (like this one: . When you put a lid on the pot, and then pour some water on the lid, the food will steam and not burn easily. In India, cooks use a steel plate to cover the pot, because the rimmed plate can hold water, but here in the U.S. we use china plates, so that isn't an option.
Is that any clearer?Reply
Ellen Lederman
Yup, thanks. Appreciate the explanation. Am tempted by the cookware you linked to, but this did turn out perfectly in my pot (which not so coincidentally is the one I won on your website and love), so I will stick with what I have....
Ellen Lederman
Guess what the local farmer's market (it's run by the horticultural students at the local tech college) had today? Little purple and white eggplants! I remembered seeing this, so bought some. Going to be lunch for Sunday! This recipe looks fabulous in addition to being oil-free (I'll still use a little bit, but only when necessary. Speaking of necessary, do you think that spices need to be tempered in oil for dals? I tried to just dry pan roast some spices, but they just didn't pop, literally and figuratively, like they do in a little oil).
I'm glad to see the recipe can take dry methi leaves---I've yet to find fresh at the store I shop in. Fresh methi leaves are on my bucket list. At least I can get fresh curry leaves! Were you able to get fresh methi?
So you like the taste of bitter gourd? Will Jay eat it? It's so bitter! When I thought I was diabetic, I tried some bitter gourd since it can supposedly reduce blood sugar (as if one meal would really do it permanently!). It was at a Chinese restaurant, so in black bean sauce. Sort of liked it---I would alternate between noticing the bitterness and then I didn't notice it---until I did again. I think it's interesting (and brave!) that someone years ago thought to eat this strange looking plant...and wasn't completely turned off the bitterness.
Reply
Vaishali
Hi Ellen, you don't need to pop most spices before adding them to Indian foods. In fact, spices for mixes like garam masala are dry-roasted without oil. The only instance where you usually pop the spice is mustard for the tadka while making a dal or curry. Dry mustard seeds will pop in a very hot pan without oil, but since the purpose of popping mustard in oil is to flavor the oil with the mustard and spread that flavoring throughout the food, dry-popping them doesn't make much sense. 🙂 Like you, I tend to use a little oil when I want the mustard flavoring.
I do find fresh methi both at the Patel Bros I go to, and at an H Mart that's near here-- it's a Korean store that has all kinds of fun ethnic foods. And yes, Jay will eat bitter gourd, although not readily. It is not an easy veggie to like, and you are brave to try it. I rather like it's flavor in a dal, like a south Indian kootu that I have on the blog. The bitterness doesn't overwhelm in recipes like those. There are some tricks for reducing bitterness, like boiling the karela in salted tamarind water before adding to the recipe.
I hope you'll try the eggplant. I was so sad when I licked the last bit off the pan. 🙂 I have to go back and get more.Reply
Melanie
I made this eggplant curry last night, using the big Italian eggplant because I didn't have the small ones. It was divine. We ate it with rice and everyone lapped it up within minutes. Thanks, Vaishali. Your recipes are always lifesavers.Reply
Vaishali
Melanie, so happy you liked it! Thanks for letting me know.
Reply
Charity
We have a Woodlands restaurant in Nashville, too! It's the only vegan/vegetarian one that I'm aware of, and I love it. I wonder if the two restaurants are somehow related or if that's just a coincidence?
Anyway, about the recipe - I don't see where to add the cumin seeds in the instructions. Thanks!
Reply
Vaishali
Hi Charity, I think Woodlands is a chain, so they probably are related. Added the cumin-- they're the first to go into the pan. 🙂
Reply
