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Fried Eggplant With Chickpeas and Mint Chutney

5.0(1820)

In this gently spiced vegetable dish, baby eggplant slices are first fried until golden, then braised with chickpeas, tomatoes and garam masala until soft, velvety and richly flavored. A quickly made fresh mint chutney adds a complex, herbal, spicy note thanks to the jalapeño in the mix. Serve this over rice or with flatbread as a main course, or on the side of grilled meats or fish.

by Melissa Clark

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Dinner, Vegetables, Main Course, Side Dish

Servings

(2–3)

Total time

45 min

Calories / serving

524 kcal

Ingredients (19)

serves

2 pounds baby or small Italian eggplant, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick roundseggplant
Fine sea salt, as neededsalt
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as neededolive-oil
1 large white onion, halved and thinly slicedonion
2 garlic cloves, mincedgarlic
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masalagaram-masala
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprikapaprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepperpepper
1/8 teaspoon cayennecayenne
1 pound ripe tomatoes, chopped (about 2 cups)tomato
1 3/4 cups (one 15-ounce can) cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed if cannedchickpea
1 cup mint leavesmint
1 cup cilantro leaves and tender stemscilantro
1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, seeded and roughly choppedpepper
1 scallion, cut into 1-inch lengthsscallion
1 garlic clove, roughly choppedgarlic
2 teaspoons lemon juice, more to tastelemon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste
Plain yogurt, for serving (optional)yogurt

Instructions (5 steps)

01Season eggplant slices all over with salt. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat until it thins out in the pan. Add enough eggplant slices to fit in one layer without overlapping. Cook until the bottoms are browned, then flip and continue to cook until well browned and soft, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Add more oil if needed. Transfer cooked eggplant to a plate lined with paper towels, and repeat with more oil and eggplant until all the eggplant is cooked. Taste eggplant and add more salt if necessary.
02Heat another tablespoon of oil in pan, then add the onions. Cook until softened and golden, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Add spices and cook for 1 minute, then add tomatoes, chickpeas and 2 tablespoons water.
03Partly cover the pan and let the mixture simmer until tomatoes start to break down, 10 to 15 minutes. Add eggplant to the pan and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until sauce thickens.
04While the eggplant cooks, combine all the ingredients for the chutney in a blender with 2 tablespoons water. Blend until puréed, about 1 minute. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt, or both, if needed.
05Serve the eggplant topped with the chutney and yogurt if you like.

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Rich recipe — supports nutrition-aware planning.