Aubergine and Onion Masala (a vegan eggplant crock-pot curry recipe)

A masala spiced curry. This Masala is made with aubergine (eggplant) and onion in a light creamy sauce. It's made in a slow cooker, but could be made in a pot on the hob too.

AUBERGINE AND ONION MASALA

I don't make many curries.

Well actually that's not true, I make dal nearly every week, but I don't often make any other curries or Indian side dishes.

We used to eat a lot more Indian food, but Cooper isn't keen (although he loves dal) and Graham never seems to be in the mood for curry.

Today I made this Aubergine and Onion Masala and it must have been the smell as Graham was tempted by it and thought it tasted great.

Cooper had a snack before heading out to Boys Brigade so he hasn't tried it yet, but I have some dal at the ready just in case.

You can't win them all.

also try - Slow Cooker Vegan Irish Stew

MANGO CHUTNEY

Oh and by the way, that's mango chutney in the little bowl. It's a really rich colour. I didn't want you to think I serve ketchup with curry. Ugh! I

DO NOT SERVE KETCHUP WITH MY CURRY! 

Good, glad we cleared that up.

I made this masala curry in my Crockpot slow cooker. It was easy!

You know how I love easy!

also try - Slow Cooker Triple Tomato & Spinach Pasta

CROCKTOBER

You may not know it but October is also #Crocktober.

A month long celebration of slow cooking and sharing easy slow cooker recipes.

Slow cooker meals are great for sticking on before work or at night for a slow cook while you sleep and shorter program after work so the slow cooker does the work while you relax or see to that pesky homework with your children.

This month I've partnered with Crock-Pot to support slow cooking. Chef Neil Rankin is also involved with the campaign and this is one of his recipes I'm sharing.

Chef's aren't always great at making a recipe simple, so I'll be rewriting the method a little.

The original recipe called for fresh fenugreek which I couldn't find, so I used dried fenugreek.

I made the recipe vegan, but you're welcome to use butter and single cream if you don't follow a vegan diet and it's easier.

also try - Slow Cooker Vegetable & Chickpea Curry

BASIC SLOW COOKER

I had a retro looking slow cooker which was stylish and was a useful bit of kit, but it was ceramic and heavy. I was waiting for that day when I'd drop and smash it.

Yes, I am that clumsy! 

It had two settings, one for 6 hours and one for 8 hours, but that was it.

CROCKPOT

The crock-pot is super light and has three settings. Low, high and a keep warm function.

I have the 4.5L DuraCeramic Crock-Pot Slow Cooker which is suitable for meals for four.

The multi-purpose aluminium pot can be used on all hob types, it's easy to clean and free from PFOA and PTFE non-stick chemicals.

Crock-pot is the original slow cooker. Launched in North America in 1971 and is the leading slow cooker brand.

also try - Slow Cooker Vegan Stuffed Pasta

CURRY SAUCE

I was skeptical about this curry as it isn't cooked in the sauce, it's started off in the inner aluminum dish of the Crock-Pot with spices then popped it back in the slow cooker for a couple of hours.

The sauce is actually made at the end when you add dairy-free spread (or butter) and soya cream (or single cream).

The onions and aubergine were tender, the spices had a good warmth and it wasn't swimming in sauce.

So more like a traditional Indian curry rather than those presented to us in Indian takeaways, which are made for the British palate and always swimming in sauce.

Mind you there is a mushroom masala I like that has rather a lot of sauce, so there is always an exception.

also try - Spicy Spinach & Potato Curry

HOW TO COOK RICE

I cheated and used microwave rice, but you can make your own.

The rule of thumb is add double the quantity of water to rice.

Pour the rice into a pot, pour over the water, bring to the boil, give one good stir, then turn off the heat, cover and leave to cook.

Don't be tempted to keep stirring.

You will end up with claggy rice. Not nice at all. Once it's cooked, fluff it up with a fork.

Also try Easy Aubergine Balti

WHAT SHOULD I SERVE WITH MASALA?

As well as serving rice with your curry, why not think about adding some mango chutney and poppadoms or some chapatis?

Chapatis are actually easy to make at home.

The dough is made with chapati flour or wholemeal flour, some oil and water.

That is it. No yeast and the dough only needs to sit for 10 minutes after you give it a quick knead. Then it's simply a case of rolling out balls of dough and cooking them for a couple of minutes each side in a frying pan.

HOW DO YOU PUFF UP NAAN BREAD?

You may have seen naan bread served in Indian restaurants all puffed up.

If you want to serve them like that I'm afraid you need a gas hob, so you can move them from the frying pan onto the open flame.

Whoop and they are all puffed up, just like that!

You can also check out my recipe for chapatis.

Just use a cup for ingredients, no need to be too perfect about it. Then just dunk them in your curry.

also try - Home-Style Potato and Cauliflower Curry

Follow the conversation with #Crocktober.


For more vegetarian and vegan slow cooker recipes, check out my page Easy Vegetarian and Vegan Slow Cooker Recipes

also try - Luxury Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

curry, aubergine curry, aubergine masala. onion curry, onion masala, vegan curry, dairy-free curry, vegetarian curry, crockpot curry, slow cooker curry, easy crockpot recipe, vegan slow cooker, slow cooker recipe

dinner

Indian, vegan

Yield: 4Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Aubergine and Onion Masala

A masala spiced curry. This Masala is made with aubergine (eggplant) and onion in a light creamy sauce. It's made in a slow cooker, but could be made in a pot on the hob too.

prep time: 10 minscook time: 2 hourtotal time: 2 hours and 10 mins

ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 onions, sliced
• 2 aubergines (eggplant), cut into cubes
• 3 medium salad tomatoes, quartered
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp sugar
• 6 almonds whizzed up with 50 ml water, a little more if it needs it
• 50ml dairy-free cream
• 30g dairy-free spread (or butter)

instructions

1. In the inner
   aluminium dish of the Crock-Pot, sauté the onion in the olive oil for a few
   minutes, then add the spices and stir well. 
2. Pour in the aubergine, tomato and almond water and warm through. 
3. Set your slow cooker to high, pour in the ingredients and leave to cook for 2-3 hours until the flavours are intense and the vegetables are soft.
4. Add the dairy-free spread, cream and fresh coriander and stir to make a sauce. Seasoning with black pepper. 
5. Serve with rice and mango chutney.
6. Enjoy! 

NOTES:

If you don't have a slow cooker, sauté the onion with the spices until soft, then add a little more water when you add the almond water and veg and cook gently with a lid on. It won't take nearly as long, probably just half an hour. Add the dairy-free spread, soya cream and coriander at the end, the same as the slow cooker version. Just check it more often to make sure it doesn't start to catch on the base of the pan. The flavour might not be as rich.

calories
231

fat (grams)
14.6

sat. fat (grams)
2.3

carbs (grams)
23.7

protein (grams)
4.7

sugar (grams)
11.1

Created using The Recipes Generator

also try - Three-Tin Tomato, Turmeric and Coconut Dal

Disclosure: I developed this recipe for Crock-Pot UK. I was not required to write a positive review and any opinions are my own.