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    Oh My Veggies » Vegan Recipes » Vegan Main Dishes

    Indian-Inspired Lentil & Eggplant Curry

    Published: Aug 23, 2017 · by Nicole · Updated: Feb 15, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Indian-Inspired Lentil & Eggplant Curry

    Late summer recipes are my favorite. See, on the one hand, you've still got all kinds of delicious summer produce available  — in fact, September is probably the time of year when produce is at its peak. Yay for veggies! And on the other hand, it's just starting to cool down, especially in the evening. There's less daylight and you can feel the season beginning to wind down. That means I'm ready for heartier, cozier meals.

    This eggplant curry is exactly the kind of meal I love during those last few weeks of summer. It uses late summer eggplant, with hearty lentils, juicy tomatoes, and lots of warming spices.

    Indian-Inspired Lentil & Eggplant Curry

    My inspiration for this dish was baingan bharta, which is a favorite Indian restaurant dish. I've tried a bunch of recipes, but never been able to recreate the dish perfectly at home, so I decided to throw recipes out the window and create something of my own. So whereas baingain bharta roasts the eggplant until it falls apart, I opted to sauté my eggplant and then simmer it up with lentils and tomatoes. The result was excellent — a saucy, spicy curry that highlights some summer produce, but has a nice stick-to-your-ribs feel that I'm sure I'll enjoy when the weather really starts to cool down.

    Indian-Inspired Lentil & Eggplant Curry

    When you cook this one you might be tempted to throw the dried lentils right into the curry instead of cooking them separately, but please don't! A while back after having a batch of chili simmer for what seemed like forever I found that the lentils were still hard. I later learned that the acid in tomatoes prevents them from cooking fully, which is why you need to simmer them separately in this recipe. If you can find canned lentils, feel free to use them instead.

    Recipe

    Indian-Inspired Lentil & Eggplant Curry

    Eggplant Curry

    This Indian-inspired eggplant curry is made with tender chunks of eggplant and lentils in a spicy tomato sauce.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Email Recipe
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Course: Main Course, Side Dish
    Cuisine: American, Indian
    Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
    Keyword: Eggplant Curry, vegan curry recipe, vegetarian curry recipe
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 245kcal
    Author: Oh My Veggies

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup dried brown lentils
    • 2 cups water
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • 1 medium 1 pound eggplant, cut into ½ inch cubes
    • 1 onion diced
    • 3 garlic cloves minced
    • 1 serrano pepper seeded and minced (optional, leave it out for a milder dish)
    • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
    • 1 to 3 tablespoons garam masala to taste
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
    • 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
    • Cooked basmati rice for serving
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Place the lentils into a small saucepan and cover them with 2 cups of water. Place over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer until tender, about 35 minutes. You can add water during cooking if it gets too low. When the lentils are done, drain any excess water.
    • While the lentils cook, coat the bottom of a large pot with the olive oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the eggplant. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the onion and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes more, until the eggplant begins to brown and the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic, serrano pepper, ginger, 1 tablespoon of garam masala, and the cumin. Sauté about 1 minute more, until very fragrant.
    • Add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a simmer. Taste test the sauce and add more garam masala if you'd like. Allow to simmer until the eggplant is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the cooked lentils and simmer another minute or two, until heated throughout. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
    • Serve with basmati rice and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 245kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 8gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 158mgPotassium: 493mgFiber: 10gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 219IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 65mgIron: 3mg
    Craving more veg-friendly recipes? Shop our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including our new Vegan Thanksgiving and Vegan Christmas cookbooks!

     

    « 17 of the Best Vegetarian Chili Recipes
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    Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Main Dishes, Vegetarian Recipes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kathryn Dailey says

      August 26, 2017 at 7:26 pm

      I made this tonight. It was really good. I was a little short on the eggplant that I had on hand, so I threw in a small zucchini too. I did the cooking in an Instant Pot.

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        August 27, 2017 at 7:33 pm

        I'm glad you enjoyed it and that it worked out well in the instant pot - I hear such great things about them and hope to get one for myself soon. 🙂

        Reply
      • Amber says

        September 11, 2017 at 7:30 pm

        Did you just dump all the ingredients in the instapot or follow the steps prescribed just in the instapot?

        Reply
      • Pennie says

        January 24, 2018 at 10:17 am

        How long did you cook it in the instant pot?

        Reply
    2. Aarushi Shah says

      August 27, 2017 at 9:23 am

      You have to give baingan bharta a try! You could roast the large eggplant on the barbecue along with cloves of garlic stuffed into it ( make slits on the eggplant). Then remove the skin amd mash the pulp. And cook it with a base of onion, lots of green onion and garlic and a little tomato paste. Spices - salt, coriander cumin powder, red chilli powder and garam masala.

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        August 27, 2017 at 7:34 pm

        Thanks for the tips! I haven't tried it on the barbecue grill but that sounds like a great idea. I'll have to give it a try!

        Reply
    3. Mary says

      August 27, 2017 at 1:34 pm

      I am most excited about finding this recipe, thank you so much, some of the spices I do not have and hope not too hard to find. I do not think my husband will like this but I know I, and possibly my daughter will. Thank you so much 🙂

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        August 27, 2017 at 7:35 pm

        Very welcome! I hoped you enjoy it!

        Reply
    4. Eva says

      August 28, 2017 at 7:36 pm

      Today I've got red and green lentils available - which is better to substitute for the brown lentils that this recipe calls for? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        August 29, 2017 at 8:10 am

        Either would work, but green would probably give you a result that's closer to the original recipe. Red would make it more like a dal with eggplant chunks (which I'm sure would also be delicious!).

        Reply
    5. Barbara says

      January 27, 2020 at 11:37 am

      4 stars
      I really enjoyed this dish, and how quick and effortless it is, but mine turned out really spicy. I omitted the serrano pepper altogether, and used 1.25 tablespoon garam masala, and still I had to add more tomatoes to be able to eat this, even though I normally like spicy food. I've bought garam masala at an ethnic store, so it might be stronger than what most places sell, but next time I'll start with with 0.25 tablespoon. Adding a dollop of yogurt would help for sure, but then it's not vegan any more.

      Reply
    6. BBM says

      September 14, 2020 at 12:51 pm

      5 stars
      Made this for dinner and served with mashed potatoes (vegan) instead of rice- so great! Highly recommend. Almost like an curry vegan shepard's pie.

      Reply
    4.50 from 2 votes

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    Nicole is a life long vegetarian and the author of the popular vegan cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. She loves sharing her recipes and showing the world just how easy and delicious meatless meals can be!
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