Courgette & Aubergine Curry

(Gluten Free, Meat Free, Dairy Free | Paleo-Friendly) Courgette & Aubergine Curry (AKA Zucchini & Eggplant Curry) This delightful curry is creamy, packed full of veggies and just generally good for the soul. I served with broccoli rice (recipe included here) and a pile of watercress, but feel free to eat this one-pot wonder on its own or with any side that you wish –maybe even add in some finely shredded cabbage towards the end of cooking time –there are no rules here!

Even though this tasty curry would be ideal to cosy up to on a winter night, I was inspired to whip this up when I received an aubergine (eggplant) in my Nature’s Window Veg Box. Basically, my veg box made me do it. Here’s the culprit:

Curry Ingredients

A handful of peanuts or cashew nuts
2 tins of full-fat coconut milk plus 2 tbsp coconut oil or ghee, for frying
2 large onions, diced
2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh root ginger grated (unpeeled if organic)
6 large garlic cloves, diced
200g (1 cup) red split lentils, rinsed (no need to soak them)
½ – 1 litre (2 cups – 4 cups) bone broth or water (use a little less if you are using coconut milk and depending on how thick or sauce you want your curry to be)
1 aubergine (eggplant), chopped into 1.5cm (0.5 inches) pieces
4 large tomatoes, quartered
2 large courgettes (zucchini), diced (I only had one so I also added the mushrooms that came in my veg box)
Grated zest and juice of 1 lime or lemon
2½ – 3 tsp tamari or 2 large pinches of sea salt
1 tsp maple syrup
A handful of roughly chopped fresh herbs such as coriander (cilantro), mint or basil

Curry Directions

In a large wide pan, dry fry the peanuts or cashews for a few minutes to toast them, roughly chop and then set aside. (Make sure you use a big pan or pot that will be able to accommodate all of the curry -see below picture for my massive mistake in this department).
In the same pan, heat the coconut oil over a medium heat and fry the onion, ginger and garlic for 10 minutes until soft (don’t let the onion and garlic go brown).
Add the rinsed lentils, the coconut milk, most of the bone broth or water (I only used 500 ml/2 cups of water) and stir well. Keep an eye on the liquid levels and add as needed so that the lentils don’t’ stick and burn at the bottom.
After 6 minutes of cooking over medium-high heat, add the aubergine (eggplant) and stir.
After a further 10 minutes, add the tomato, courgette (zucchini), lime/lemon zest and the tamari/salt. Add more bone broth or water if you think your curry needs it. As you can see, I should’ve used a bigger pot. Don’t be a fool like me!

After 6 minutes, turn off the heat and add the lime/lemon juice, the maple syrup and fresh herbs, then stir and taste. You might need a little tamari/salt or lemon/lime juice. (I was feeling adventurous and added a bit of a hot red pepper in for fun).
Top with the nuts and serve with watercress or your chosen side dish. If you’re having guests over, serve your curry with little bowls of extras (nuts, herbs, lemon/lime wedges, sea salt, etc.) so everyone can help themselves to extra toppings.

Serves 4 as a one-pot meal or 6 if served with a side dish.

Broccoli Rice Ingredients

1 head of broccoli including stalk
2 spring (green) onions, finely sliced or 1 tbsp snipped fresh chives
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Broccoli Rice Directions

Use a food processor or the coarse teeth on a grater (which is what I did) to grate the whole broccoli including the stalk into rice-sized pieces.
Steam the broccoli in a pan with a few tablespoons of water, lid on, for 3-4 minutes until tender with a little bite, stirring halfway through.
Season to taste and stir through the spring (green) onions or chives, then serve.

Source | Hemsley Hemsley, ‘The Art of Eating Well’

What’s that? You want one last picture of this gorgeous curry? Well, okay then! You’re welcome.