Indian Curry with Eggplant and Sweet Potato

Eggplant is my favorite vegetable. For vegetarians, the combination of eggplant and sweet potato is best to create a healthy and delicious dish. I love Indian curry more than any other Asian curry because it has a depth of flavor with a lot of spices other than just curry powder. Today, I will introduce one of my favorite Indian dishes. I include the tomato-onion gravy as one of the sauces that should always be kept on hand if the Indian cuisine is the choice of food. Making this sauce is very easy, and, after making that, the rest of Indian cooking will prevail.

Ingredients:
Tomato-onion gravy ingredients:
1/4 cup total consisting of equal amounts of chili powder. turmeric, cumin, and coriander
2 tbs total consisting of equal amounts of ginger and garlic paste
1 lb. tomatoes, chopped
1 lb. white onions, chopped
1/4 cup oil
Salt to taste
1 cup water
Eggplant curry ingredients:
1 large eggplant
1 sweet potato or any potato of your choice
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp garlic
1 bay leaf
2 tbs oil
2 cups gravy
1 can of coconut milk (about 14.5 oz.)
Salt and pepper to taste
 
Garnish with chopped cilantro and mints

Directions:
To make the gravy:
In a sauté pan, add oil. Heat until hot. Stir in the mixture of chili powder, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and ginger garlic paste. Stir and cook until fragrant.

 Stir in tomatoes and onions. Make a quick stir; Cover and cook for 1 hour.

 You also can cook the gravy in a slow cooker on the low setting for 3 to 4 hours. Season with salt and pepper.

For the eggplant curry:
Wash and cut eggplant into bite-size pieces (I like to soak eggplant in a bowl of water and lemon). This method will make the eggplant less bitter. Drain.

Peel and cut the sweet potato. You can steam the sweet potato or cook it in a microwave. I have a NuWave® oven, so I bake my potato until cooked.

In a pot, add oil and sauté the curry powder, mustard, and fennel seeds until fragrant. Add ginger and garlic and continue cooking for another 3 minutes.

Add eggplant and stir. Cook eggplant until almost soft and tender.

 Add 2 cups gravy and bring to boil.

 Add cooked sweet potatoes and coconut milk.

Bring it back to boil and season with salt and pepper. Now it ready to serve with rice but do not forget the cilantro and mints.