Eggplant Tomato & Chickpea Curry

My husband really loves Indian Food.  Before Darren and I met, I had never tried it.  Well, real Indian Food that is. Sure my mom had made some form of curry chicken surprise but never anything that could be considered close to authentic Indian food.

I was living in Florida, He was living outside of Nashville, TN.  I flew to Tennessee and spent the weekend with him.  One evening, we went out for dinner to Ruth Chris Steakhouse but the wait was over 90 minutes so we opted to go somewhere else.  He took me to an Indian Restaurant just around the corner from the Steakhouse.  I was hesitant.  Ok more like resistant.  Thinking to myself, “We should go back, I’m not sure I’m going to like this curry stuff.  If the food is bad, the date is going to be ruined.”   Being on my best “newly dating” behavior, I decided to give it a try and I was hooked immediately.  I still remember my first bite.  My taste buds were doing the Happy dance.  Spices and Flavors I had never tasted before.  That first date was over 6 years ago and we have eaten Indian food hundreds of times since.

This is my twist on Indian Eggplant Bhurtha  which is eggplant + tomatoes + onion + spices and thats really it.  I decided to add some chickpeas to the dish making it a little heartier and to stretch it out since I was feeding a few extra people.

Since I ended up with tons of eggplant & tomatoes from a Farmers Market trip and decided to make this recipe and can it.   This recipe LOVES to be canned!!!    Quick, easy, Only a few ingredients & super healthy!  Taste great by itself or over rice.

It you are doing the lo-carb thing, just leave out the chickpeas/garbanzo beans.  It is still a tasty dish.  You could also turn this into a delicious soup with the addition of  some vegetable stock.

Indian Eggplant, tomato & chickpea Curry

• 2 Tb olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large eggplant, chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 5 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp curry
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• handful of cilantro or parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large pot, fry the cumin seeds in the olive oil over low heat while stirring for 1 min.
2. Increase the heat, add the eggplant & onion, and let cook for about 8-10 minutes just until it begins to soften.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
4. Add the tumeric, curry, salt and stir the mixture.
5.  Let simmer for 8 minutes.
6. Stir in the cilantro or parsley and salt and pepper to taste.