Slightly Coconut Eggplant Curry

I think everyone has a bad eggplant story.  It is one of those vegetables that you want to like.  It seems so grown-up, so exotic.  You have memories of your mother always ordering it at your favorite restaurant when you shied away, instead ordering the spaghetti.

It especially sounds so appealing when you read cookbooks that refer to it as aubergine.  How sophisticated is that?  And so you try to make it at home.  And you hate it.  And you have this horrible eggplant story.

Me?  I never toss out food.  If I make a dish that isn’t up to par, fine.  I’ll eat it.  If it is bad, fine.  I’ll eat it.  And I’ll eat the leftovers, too.  I’m simply not a waster.  Except for the first time I attempted eggplant.  I had one bite and WHAM! my foot was on my fancy, schmancy garbage can and that entire baked pasta dish was in the trash.

Now I’m not saying it was a bad recipe.  It could have been a bad eggplant.  But it left a horrible taste in my mouth for a long, long time.  But I’m not one to give up.  So I read up on the vegetable.  Skimmed through the recipes.  Decided to rewrite my eggplant story.

My new tale is a doozie.  This dish is wonderful served over rice and delicious on its own.  It has only a hint of coconut flavor and that hint pairs so well with the tomato sauce, a natural accompaniment for eggplant.  For protein, try adding some chick peas into the stew or cashews at the end.  That would just be wonderful.

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Slightly Coconut Eggplant Curry
1 eggplant, cut into 1″ hunks
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
8 oz water
1.5 T garam masala
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (unless your garam masala blend is particularly spicy)
1/4 cup coconut milk

Place cut eggplant in a colander and sprinkle liberally with salt.  Allow to drain 15 minutes and then wash away the moisture.  In a large dutch oven, saute onion in cooking spray for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes.  Add eggplant chunks and garam masala.  Toss to coat veggies evenly in spices.

Add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water.  Bring to a simmer and cook 30 minutes.  Add red pepper flakes (if using) and coconut milk.  Simmer 10 minutes more, until adequately thickened.  Serve over rice or cous cous.