i had an extra eggplant lying around so i looked for inspiration online and found this list: 17 Delicious Eggplant Recipes That Everyone Will Love on Serious Eats. the one that called out to me today was this spicy one with shrimp.

while i altered the ingredients a little to avoid some food allergies for my little one, the flavor was still delicious! i used a medium eggplant instead of baby eggplants so i had a little problem with the pieces of eggplant with peel not being as soft while all the other pieces were meltingly tender but next time, i’ll make the eggplant slices with peel thinner.

other than that, this is definitely a recipe i’ll make again. we had it over quinoa tonight but perhaps another night over couscous … and another over rice … over millet … etc!

ingredients

• salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 Tablespoon minced chives
• 2 teaspoons cumin powder, divided
• 1 pound small shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1-½ tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
• ½ cup chopped tomato
• 1 cup water
• 4 baby black eggplants cut lengthwise into 4 (or two depending on size)
  – or –
  1 medium eggplant in long thin slices (slices with peel should have thin slices of peel)

preparation

combine 1 teaspoon salt, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste,1 teaspoon cumin powder, and the shrimp in a medium bowl and set aside.

heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. add onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. add green chilli and chopped tomato. stir until tomato is broken down and starting to get dry, about 5 minutes. add remaining cumin, red chilli and coriander powders and vigorously until fragrant, about 2 minutes. (add drops of water if you think the paste is sticking to the bottom or the powders are burning.) add eggplants and stir to coat with spice paste. add water and season to taste with salt. cover and cook until eggplant is tender and most of its liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

add the shrimp and stir. cook uncovered until the shrimp is opaque and curled and the eggplant is cooked through, about 5 minutes. serve hot with roti or steamed rice and daal

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resource: Beyond Curry: Spiced Shrimp and Eggplant Stir-Fry by Denise Dsilva Sankhe from Serious Eats