“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

Passport & Plate - Nandani's Sri Lankan brinjal curry

Sri Lanka | Thursday, March 5, 2015 | 3 photos

Ingredients
500g eggplant – sliced in wedges like chips

2 green chilli finely diced

1 onion thinly sliced

2 tomatoes roughly diced

1 level teaspoon of minced garlic

1 level teaspoon of minced ginger

1 teaspoon chilli powder

½ teaspoon pepper powder

½ teaspoon of masala

¼ teaspoon of turmeric

¼ teaspoon of mustard powder

Small cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon of salt

½ teacup of coconut milk

 

How to prepare this recipe
Heat a fry pan or wok with oil, enough to cover the surface, until very hot. Once ready add the eggplant and fry until dark golden brown and slightly crunchy. When done put aside.

Fry the sliced onion, ginger, garlic and green pepper until light, golden brown and then add the chopped tomatoes.

After a couple of minutes add salt, chilli powder, pepper powder, masala, turmeric mustard powder and cinnamon. Stir thoroughly until all the spices are mixed through.

Add the eggplant back into the pan and add the coconut milk, combine well. Cook for about 2 minutes then stir through a tablespoon of caster sugar.

Before serving take out the cinnamon stick and discard. Serve with rice and roti and eat without cutlery if you’re game!

 

The story behind this recipe
As I prepare the curry, slicing the eggplant and chopping the tomatoes I remember Nandani’s instructions “make sure the pan is very hot” and her laughter as my delicate eyes could not contain my tears from the onion.

Nandani was my host mother while I lived in Sri Lanka, and I her ‘Australian baby’ which she would proudly tell the neighbours and anyone who asked.

The eggplant curry was my favourite dish and one of many she taught me to cook in the back of the kitchen with the rows of glass jars filled with an assortment of spices lining the wall. The recipe, like all the others, was passed to her down the generations and she worked not from a cook book but years of practice.

While I happily gobbled down all of her meals her aromatic, eggplant curry always left me wanting more. The crisp outer layer of the vegetable gives way to the soft, hearty flesh inside and the mix of spices; masala, turmeric, and mustard powder blend perfectly. The long green chilies, pepper powder and chili powder produce a fiery kick but are balanced out with the hint of sweetness from the cinnamon and sugar. The smooth coconut milk combines with the juicy tomatoes creating a creamy, soothing sauce interrupted by the crunch of the crispy eggplant.

Served with roti I would tear off small portions of the bread with my hand and scoop up some of the curry along with rice, doing my best not to dribble the mouthwatering meal down my chin.

Nandani, with her big brown eyes and smiling face, would eat with me and tell me stories about life in Sri Lanka and press me for details about life in Australia. We would sit for hours on the plastic chairs at the table covered in newspaper.

We did exactly this on my last night in Sri Lanka, the hot air clinging to my shirt as I helped my Sri Lankan mum cook my favourite meal. When I cook the curry at home for friends and family I think of walking down the dirt lane to her house tucked away and shaded by palms and beginning our cooking lessons once more.