Fragrant aubergine and coconut curry

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Freya Cartwright's aubergine curry

A healthy, celebratory recipe created for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee

60 minutes

Serves 4

Freya Cartwright

Recipe by: Freya Cartwright | Senior Digital Fundraiser

This recipe is a true celebration of store cupboard ingredients! One night, I went to make dinner and all I had in the fridge was an aubergine and an onion. I teamed them with canned tomatoes, long-life coconut drink and spices from my cupboard and this simple but delicious recipe was born! I was so pleased with it, I decided to start a Instagram account for my cooking and this was the first recipe I put on there.

Freya Cartwright

Recipe by: Freya Cartwright | Senior Digital Fundraiser

This recipe is a true celebration of store cupboard ingredients! One night, I went to make dinner and all I had in the fridge was an aubergine and an onion. I teamed them with canned tomatoes, long-life coconut drink and spices from my cupboard and this simple but delicious recipe was born! I was so pleased with it, I decided to start a Instagram account for my cooking and this was the first recipe I put on there.

Ingredients

  • 2 aubergines, cut into bite-sized chunks
  • Handful fresh coriander
  • 1 tablespoon oil, such as vegetable or rapeseed oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 large cloves garlic, finely diced
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • ½ –1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 x 400ml can plum tomatoes
  • 450ml coconut drink
  • 300g brown rice
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

CALORIES: 391

FAT: 6.4g

5 A DAY: 3.5

SALT: 0.2g

SUGAR: 12g

Method

  1. Cook the diced aubergine in the microwave for 4–5 minutes – this prevents it from absorbing the oil.
  2. Chop the coriander stems only – set aside the leaves for serving.
  3. Warm the oil in a large saucepan or sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent (softened but not browned). Then add the garlic and coriander stems, and cook for about a minute.
  4. To the same pan, add the aubergine and cook for around 8 minutes, allowing them to brown and softened.
  5. Sprinkle over the dried spices and stir continuously for 2 minutes.
  6. Pour in the canned tomatoes and coconut drink. Stir to combine and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and leave to simmer for 30–40 minutes, until the aubergine skin is soft. You may want to mash the aubergine pieces a little to help thicken the curry.
  7. Meanwhile, cook the rice following the packet instructions.
  8. Season the curry with black pepper to taste.
  9. Drain the rice and serve onto four plates. Spoon over the curry and top with coriander leaves. Enjoy!

For extra protein, you could add lentils or other pulses such as chickpeas at step 6. You may need to use extra coconut drink to prevent the curry from becoming too dry.

Did you know

Coconut drink is a lower-fat and lower-calorie alternative to canned coconut milk – even the light version. It can be found in your local supermarket with other non-dairy milk alternatives. The flavour of different brands of coconut drinks varies considerably. We recommend opting for one that has a strong coconut flavour when using it in curry recipes like this, such as Alpro and Sainsbury’s own.

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