This started life as a vegetable Rogan Josh from my Bosh cooking book but as usual I decided to play around a bit, make it a bit more Slimmingworld friendly. I have to say aubergines would probably be on my list of food hell on Saturday kitchen normally but I thought I would give them one more try.
Guess what, I was pleasantly surprised, they work really well in this dish, but you can use whatever you want.
It’s another one of those dishes that is really flexible. Keep it to just vegetables or you could add tofu, Quorn or Paneer cheese (watch your Syns if on Slimmingworld).
Of course you could do this with chicken, lamb or fish but I’m trying to add a few more veggie options into my repertoire for a change.
Serves 4
Slimmingworld Syns per portion approximately 6 to 7* but can be significantly reduced by using yoghurt, sweetener and spray oil
*Please check the syn values just in case they are not accurate.
INGREDIENTS
1 small aubergine
4 cloves of garlic
a large thumb sized piece of fresh ginger
2 red chillies, seeds removed or to taste
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
Water to loosen the mixture to enable blending
1 red onion,
Pinch of salt, optional
1 teaspoon of granulated sweetener or sugar , optional (Slimmingworld Syns for sugar = 1)
Choice of vegetables I used 1 courgette and 1 red pepper (mushrooms and/or would work well just use whatever you’ve got)
1 tin of tomatoes
1 tin of chickpeas in water
Two Thirds of a tin of reduced fat coconut milk (Slimmingworld Syns = 13 to 14 but remember, this will make a good 4 portions). If you don’t want to add the Syns you could use fat-free natural yoghurt, quark or low syn coconut yoghurt.
2 bay leaves
1 stick of cinnamon.
8 green cardamom pods lightly crushed
A few whole black peppercorns to suit your own tastes (I think I used about 8 to 10)
1 heaped teaspoon of ground cumin
2 heaped teaspoons of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of garam masala
small bunch of fresh coriander
1 cal spray oil of choice or 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (Slimmingworld Syns = about 6)
METHOD
Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and spray with oil
Add the cubed aubergine and fry for about 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown on all sides. Remove from pan onto some kitchen roll and then set aside.
In the meantime dice the onions.
Chop the pepper and courgette and any other veg you may have decided to use into chunks/cubes or however you prefer them.
Keep your eye on your aubergines!
Spray the pan with a bit more oil and add the cardamom seeds, cinnamon stick, peppercorns and bay leaves.
Fry for a couple of minutes and then add the chopped onions, turn down the heat, add a teaspoon of sugar or granulated sweetener and a pinch of salt (if using) and cook down for about 15 minutes on a low heat or so until soft and caramelised.
Meanwhile, put the ginger, one of the chilies , garlic, tomato purée and about 60 ml of water and blitz in a blender/liquidiser until smooth, then set aside.
When the onions are caramelised add the pureed ginger, garlic mixture, followed by the ground cumin and coriander and stir thoroughly for a few minutes.
Add the red pepper, courgette and any other vegetables you are using and fry for a few minutes. If the pan gets a bit dry just add some more water or the liquid from the chickpeas.
Add tinned tomatoes, coconut milk, garam masala, aubergines and chickpeas and leave to cook gently until you have a reduced sauce to your preferred consistency.
Season to taste and finish with fresh coriander leaves and finely sliced red chilli, if using.
Serve with cauliflower rice or side dish of your choice.
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