Eggplant and brussels sprouts kadai
Vegetarian
Kadai curries are modernised versions of the North Indian classic dish of Chicken Kahari. The kadai name is a reference to the wok-like pot it’s cooked in. I just use a wok myself.
I made this one vegetarian (vegan) with fried eggplant and brussels sprouts. It's our go-to adult dish when my kids request butter chicken for dinner, and it’s my wife’s all-time favourite Indian dish.
It’s a great companion dish to butter chicken as it’s a little spicier, not so creamy (I don’t use any yoghurt or ground nuts in this). Great with a bit of sour tamarind chutney.
Cooking time
<1hr
Serves
4
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants, sliced into ½ cm slices
- salt, to season
- 2 cups brussels sprouts, halved
- 1 litre vegetable oil, for deep frying
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 4 cm cassia bark
- 3 cardamom pods
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1 brown onion, thickly sliced
- 1½ tbsp ginger and garlic paste
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 tbsp tomato sauce (ketchup)
- 2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
- thinly sliced ginger, to serve
- sliced green chilli, to serve
- Kadai Masala
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground cloves
Method
- Salt the eggplant and stand for 20 minutes, rinse then pat dry. Heat the oil in a wok or saucepan to 180C and fry the eggplant slices and brussels sprouts in batches until golden brown. Drain well. The brussels sprouts will spit when you add them to the oil, so cover the wok with a wire mesh for the first minute of cooking until the spitting stops.
- Heat a wok or medium saucepan over medium heat and add about 2 tsp of oil. Add the fennel, cumin, cassia, cardamom and red chillies and fry for a minute until fragrant. Add the onion and the ginger and garlic paste and fry for 4 minutes until starting to brown. Add the kadai masala ingredients and stir to combine. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce and about 1½ cups of water and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, then stir through the eggplant and brussels sprouts. Taste and adjust seasoning. Stir through the fenugreek leaves stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with sliced ginger and green chillies.
