I absolutely love Indian food and now that the weather is growing colder, I’m craving thick, hearty sauces even more than I usually do (which is usually a lot even when it’s the summer).  While Indian food has the reputation of being challenging to cook, it’s all about having the necessary spices on hand!  I have always found cooking with spices a very intuitive process, which lends itself really well to Indian cooking. Having a Stainless Steel Spice Set is really convenient when you’re cooking Indian food!

While North Indian cooking is known to use yogurt to thicken their sauces, I am not a fan of yogurt, so I wanted to do a vegan version of a thick curry sauce and used Coconut milk instead, which gave it a really nice smooth consistency while also making it dairy-free! 

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5 from 2 votes

Vegan Indian Eggplant Curry Recipe

While North Indian cooking is known to use yogurt to thicken their sauces, I am not a fan of yogurt, so I wanted to do a vegan version of a thick curry sauce and used Coconut milk instead, which gave it a really nice smooth consistency while also making it dairy-free!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Eggplant Curry Recipe, Vegan Indian food, Vegan recipe, Vegetarian Eggplant Curry Recipe, Vegetarian recipe

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

Mains

• 1 large eggplant
• 1/2 a golden onion
• 1/4 c of olive oil
• 1/4 c of grapeseed oil
• 2 cups of basmati rice
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1/2 large can of pureed tomatoes
• 2/3 can of coconut milk
• 1 can of kidney beans

Spices

• 2 tsp of sea salt
• 2 tsp of pepper
• 1 tsp of chili powder
• 1 tsp of turmeric
• 1 tsp of red pepper
• 2 tsp of smoked paprika
• 1 tsp of curry powder
• 2 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 tbsp of minced ginger
• 2 handfuls of fresh cilantro

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Chop the eggplant horizontally into cubes
• Put the eggplant on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and add half of the amount of salt/pepper.
• Bake for 25 minutes, turn halfway through, and bake until golden brown.
• In a large saucepan, heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat. Add onions, stir for one minute, and then lower the heat to medium-low/low for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are golden brown.
• Stir in all of the spices: chili powder, turmeric, red pepper, smoked paprika, curry powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala and cook until fragrant, which is about 1 minute. 
• Then stir in the garlic and ginger for about 2 more minutes.
• Add the tomato puree, coconut milk, water, roasted eggplant, and optional kidney beans.
• Stir in everything together and bring to a rolling simmer, lower the heat, simmer, and cover for about 25 minutes for the sauce/flavors to blend and for the sauce to thicken.
• Drizzle the cilantro on top and serve with basmati rice!

Notes

I like to add more spices than what I indicated in the recipe but everyone has different tastebuds!  The kidney beans are optional, but I love the texture. If the sauce is too thick, you can put a

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant
• 1/2 a golden onion
• 1/4 c of olive oil
• 2 tsp of sea salt
• 2 tsp of pepper
• 1/4 c of grapeseed oil
• 1 tsp of chili powder
• 1 tsp of turmeric
• 1 tsp of red pepper
• 1 tsp of smoked paprika
• 1 tsp of curry powder
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of coriander
• 1 tsp of garam masala
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 tbsp of minced ginger
• 1/2 large can of pureed tomatoes
• 2/3 can of coconut milk
• 1/3-1/2 cup of water ( like my sauces thicker so I use closer to 1/3)
• 1 can of kidney beans (optional- I love the texture it brings)
• 2 handfuls of fresh cilantro
• 2 cups of basmati rice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Chop the eggplant horizontally into cubes
3. Put the eggplant on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and add half of the amount of salt/pepper.
4. Bake for 25 minutes, turn halfway through, and bake until golden brown.
5. In a large saucepan, heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat.  Add onions, stir for one minute, and then lower the heat to medium-low/low for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are golden brown.
6. Stir in all of the spices: chili powder, turmeric, red pepper, smoked paprika, curry powder, cumin, coriander and cook until fragrant, which is about 1 minute.  You might add more spices throughout the process given your taste buds.
7. Then stir in the garlic and ginger for about 2 more minutes.
8. Add the tomato puree, coconut milk, water, roasted eggplant, and optional kidney beans.
9. Stir in everything together and bring to a rolling simmer, lower the heat, simmer, and cover for about 25 minutes for the sauce/flavors to blend and for the sauce to thicken.
10. Drizzle the cilantro on top and serve with basmati rice!

Eggplant curry with a side of Achaar (South Asian pickles)