Egg and Aubergine Curry with Wholemeal Flatbreads

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April 14, 2014 by Dewi

Eggs. Brilliant eggs. They’re bloody marvellous aren’t they? So often labeled as some kind of ‘last resort’ ingredient, marketed to suggest they’re only of any use when they’re the last bit of food in the house. Yes, there is complete truth in the old notion that “if you have eggs, you have a meal”, but I want to celebrate eggs. Not for their function. Not for their utility. No. I want to make eggs the star of the show. With it being Easter this coming weekend, too, the whole egg theme I’m pushing here ties up quite nicely, right?

This recipe is not just for when there are a few lonely eggs knocking about in your desolate fridge. This recipe makes it worth going outside, walking, driving, cycling or even cartwheeling, to an actual shop and buying a box of eggs specifically to make this curry.

To continue the egg-mania, the body of this curry contains aubergine. AKA eggplant.

EGG plant.

A stroke of genius on my part, I’m sure you’ll agree. Not just thematically, either. In terms of flavour, these two ingredients (as their names would suggest) go brilliantly together. They also lend themselves superbly to a good, hot curry dish. The eggs are boiled, peeled and pierced several times with a sharp knife, allowing the spicy flavours of the sauce to permeate the delicious little fellows.

I served this with some easy-as-you-like wholemeal flatbreads which require next to no effort to make. They’re perfect for mopping up the last of the precious curry from the walls of the bowl. Also, they’re a little bit like toast; the natural companion of the mighty egg.

Serves 3 (and makes 3 flatbreads)

Ingredients

For the curry:

• 6 eggs (boiled for 6 minutes and peeled)
• 500g aubergine (about 2), chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely sliced
• 2 garlic coves, peeled
• 1 inch-size piece of ginger, peeled
• 2 chillies
• 1 tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander and garam masala
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 50ml coconut milk
• 400g ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 100ml water

 

For the flatbreads:

• 125g wholemeal flour
• 60ml water
• Pinch of salt
• Tbsp olive oil

 

Method

For the curry:

Using a food processor or pestle and mortar, blitz the garlic, ginger and chillies into a paste.

In a large pan over a medium heat, gently cook the onion in a little oil until soft and translucent; around 15 mins.

Add the ginger, garlic and chilli paste and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Throw in the chopped aubergine and cook for 5 minutes until starting to soften.

Stir in all the ground spices other than garam masala and cook for 2 minutes.

Pour over the water and the chopped tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Place the lid on the pan and leave the curry to simmer over a gentle heat for 20 minutes, adding more water if the curry looks dry.

Carefully pierce the boiled eggs several times using a sharp small knife.

Add the eggs to the curry and stir in the coconut milk and garam masala.

Leave to cook for around 5 minutes and serve with the flatbreads (below)

 

For the flatbreads:

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients and knead for around 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 3 balls, wrap each one in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Place a dry pan or griddle over a medium heat.

Roll each ball of dough into a flat round.

Cook each flatbread for around 2 minutes on each side until golden and slightly charred.