Brinjal curry with chickpea dumplings

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"This curry comes together quickly and is an amazing use of those brinjals knocking about in your fridge. The chickpea dumplings are based on a Caribbean recipe and are really easy to prepare." – Khanya Mzongwana

Ingredients

3 large brinjals
4 T oil, plus ¼ cup for frying
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 t cumin seeds
2 t garam masala
1 sprig curry leaves
50 g Woolworths fresh masala paste
1 T smoked paprika
1 x 400 g can chopped tomatoes
1 T brown sugar
½ cup water
4 T plain yoghurt
For the chickpea dumplings:
1½ cups plain yoghurt
2 cups water
100 g chickpea flour
1 t salt
1 t ground turmeric
1 t sugar
1 t garam masala
1 t ginger, grated
2 T ghee
1 t fennel seeds
4 T oil

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Slice the brinjals lengthways to a thickness of 1 cm, making sure each slice is still attached to the stem. Place on a baking tray, drizzle with 4 T oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 40 minutes, or until soft and golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.

2. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and add the onion. Fry until softened and translucent, then add the cumin seeds, garam masala and curry leaves. Fry until the seeds become fragrant and begin to pop. Add the masala paste and paprika and fry for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, sugar and water. Add the brinjals and season. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the yoghurt and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Serve with the chickpea dumplings.

3. To make the chickpea dumplings, whisk the yoghurt, water, chickpea flour, salt, turmeric, sugar, garam masala and ginger in a bowl.

4. Heat the ghee in a large saucepan, then add the fennel seeds and fry for 1 minute. Add the yoghurt mixture and cook, stirring, for 20–25 minutes, or until the mixture thickens to the texture of a sticky dough.

5. Remove from the heat and transfer to a small, square, lightly greased dish. Chill for 30 minutes or until set.

6. Cut the set chickpea mixture into 2 cm squares. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and, when hot, add the dumplings, a few at a time. Fry until the dumplings are golden brown and a bit crisp on both sides. Serve with the curry.

Find more vegetarian recipes here.

Photographs: Jan Ras
Food assistant: Thando Mayoni