Okra and Baby Eggplant Curry

I made this yesterday….I’m calling it Okra and Baby Eggplant Curry. I made it after buying some okra last weekend and deciding that a curry would be a great way to handle to sliminess of the okra. I didn’t follow a recipe, but instead used my food intuition to create a creamy curry dish. My insistence of not following recipes has actually gotten me in trouble before when making Indian or Indian inspired dishes–a lot of times they don’t turn out how I intend them to–but this one actually turned out great!

I’m going to share my recipe with you with one caveat: I didn’t really keep great track of my measurements. I was sorta in a groove of adding a pinch of coriander here, grating some ginger there, adding a little more stock as needed…tasting and deciding it need some acid so throwing in some lemon juice…so, please use this recipe at your own risk or if you like being adventurous in the kitchen!

Okra and Baby Eggplant Curry

Ingredients – All measurements are approximate, see my note above! Please feel free to adjust as you see fit.

10-12 baby eggplants, sliced lengthways
3-4 cups of okra, I just cut the tops off
2  cups of coconut milk, add more as needed
2 cups of vegetable stock, add more as needed
butter and oil for sauteing
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1-2  teaspoons of fresh ginger, grated
1/2 cup of chopped cashews
1/4 cup of desiccated coconut, unsweetened
2 tablespoons of curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of coriander
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 teaspoons of turmeric
fresh cilantro
lemon juice to taste
salt and pepper
2 tomatoes, chopped **EDITED**

Instructions:

1. Saute baby eggplant in olive oil and butter until browned on both sides. Set aside. Do the same for the okra, but don’t brown.

2. Meanwhile cook the onion, red and green peppers in a large pan. Sweat them a bit and then add the curry, turmeric, cinnamon and coriander.

3. Cook for about 10 minutes and then and the garlic, ginger and jalapeno. Stir and cook for approximately 5 minutes.

4. Add the mustard seeds, stir and cook for about 1 minute.

5. Add the vegetable stock and reduce heat. Then add the coconut milk, chopped cashews and desiccated coconut. Let cook for about 10 minutes.

6. Add the cooked baby eggplant and okra and simmer for about 20-25  minutes or until it begins to thicken.

7. Add some lemon juice and cilantro right before serving.

8. Serve over your grain of choice. I used quinoa and the nutty flavor worked well.