Chickpea Eggplant Curry

I find myself making this dish almost every week because it's so quick and easy to make. Curry dishes have to be my go-to dinners since they are so versatile. If you ever have a bunch of vegetables in the fridge, the best thing you can do is make a curry with noodles or rice.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

1. 1 1/2 cups brown rice + 1 vegetable stock cube

2. 1 onion

3. 3 cloves of garlic

4. 1 thumb sized piece of ginger

5. 2 red chillies

6. 1 aubergine (eggplant)

7. 1 tin of chickpeas

8. 1 tin of chopped tomatoes

9. 1 tin of coconut milk (I always use the full fat coconut milk)

10. 3-4 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)

11. 2 tbsp curry powder

12. 1 tsp cumin

13. Juice 1/2 lemon

14. 1/2 tsp chilli flakes

15. Salt/pepper

16. Handful of coriander for garnish

Instructions

1. Start by cooking your rice so that it is ready to eat by the time you finish cooking. I usually cook 1 1/2 cups of brown rice with 2 1/2 - 3 cups of water. I also like to add in a vegetable stock cube to give it some extra flavor.

2. Chop the onion, garlic, ginger and red chillies finely. Place those on the side of the cutting board to make space for the aubergine.

3. Chop the aubergine into small cubes and leave on the cutting board for now.

4. Heat up a wok or large pan on a medium heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Place in the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and chilli. Let that cook for 2 minutes.

5. Now you can throw in the aubergine along with the 3-4 tablespoons of tamari. Let that soak in the tamari for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Drain, rinse and add in the tin of chickpeas to the wok.

7. Add in the spices: curry powder, cumin, chilli flakes, salt/pepper and stir for a minute so that the chickpeas and aubergine are evenly coated. If you need to, you can add in a few tablespoons of water so that it doesn't stick.

8. Now you can add in the tin of chopped tomatoes and coconut milk. You will get this lovely color from all of the spices! It may seem a bit watery, but leave it to cook for 5-10 minutes and the sauce will thicken and deepen in color. Lower the heat so it simmers and stir occassionally so it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan/wok.

9. Once it has finished cooking, add it in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and more pepper/salt if you'd like.

10. Place a scoop of rice in a bowl and top it with the curry. I also like to add some coriander leaves on top and maybe a dollop of dairy-free yogurt!