Eggplant & Chickpea Curry

YKGrub · Oct 2026 · serves 2–3 + baby · 35 min · air fryer, uses the pantry chana masala

• Source: Leila, 2026-10-13. Built on the pot of chickpeas from the week's prep.
• Serves: 2–3 with rice, plus a baby portion · 35 min

The eggplant gets cooked separately and folded in at the end. Simmered in the gravy from raw it turns to mush and drinks all the oil.

Ingredients

Eggplant

• 1 large eggplant, in ¾-inch cubes
• Salt, for drawing
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• ½ tsp turmeric

The gravy

• 2 tbsp oil or ghee
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Pinch of hing
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, or 1 inch ginger + 3 cloves grated
• 2 tomatoes chopped, or ½ can chopped tomatoes
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1½ tsp chana masala (pantry spice box)
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas, with ½ cup of their liquid
• Salt
• ½ tsp garam masala, at the end
• 1 tsp kasoori methi, crushed between the palms, at the end
• Cilantro

Eggplant

1. Cube and salt generously. 15 min in a colander, then press dry. Wet eggplant drinks oil.
2. Toss with the oil and turmeric.
3. Air fryer 390°F, 14 min, shaking twice, until browned at the edges. Oven: 425°F, 25 min.
4. Pull the baby's portion before the salt — a few plain cubes cooked alongside.

Gravy

1. Heat the oil, crackle the cumin seeds, then the hing for 5 seconds.
2. Onion over medium, 8–10 min, until properly browned at the edges. Not golden. This is the whole flavour base and it is the step people cut short.
3. Ginger-garlic, 1 min.
4. Turmeric, coriander, chilli and chana masala straight into the oil, 30 seconds. Bloom them in fat or the curry tastes dusty.
5. Tomatoes and salt. Cook 6–8 min, until they break down and oil beads at the edges.
6. Chickpeas and their ½ cup liquid. Simmer 10 min, mashing a few against the side to thicken it.
7. Set the baby's portion aside now — chickpeas and gravy before the garam masala, mashable.
8. Fold in the eggplant. 2 min only, just to warm through.
9. Off the heat: garam masala, kasoori methi, cilantro.

Notes

• Chana masala is doing the work here — it is already in the pantry box and it is built for exactly this. Baingan bharta masala is the other option and makes it smokier.
• No tomatoes in the house: a heaped tablespoon of tomato paste with ½ cup water.
• Richer version: ½ cup coconut milk at step 6. Yogurt will split; if you want it, stir it in off the heat.
• Rice or flatbread. Keeps 4 days and is better on day 2.