Eggplant and Peas in Yoghurt-Poppy Seed Curry

One of the truly magical things to me about Indian food is how a more or less standard set of spices can be combined to form seemingly endless different tasting dishes.

The defining spice of this gravy is the poppy seed, the white variety called Khaskhas in India. Apparently the word is Persian in origin. Poppy seed gives a nutty taste to the curry. Yogurt smooths it out.

Eggplant is one of my favourite vegetables.(Though admittedly there is not a single vegetable that I dont like, only shoddily cooked vegetable dishes.) The eggplant here is cooked separately and added to the curry in the last few minutes. Yet it melds beautifully with the gravy.

The peas are a different matter though. Somehow, I find peas really take about 15 minutes of cooking in the gravy to soften and take on the flavour of the gravy. I really dislike the taste of the 'greenness' of peas sticking out in a dish where it is supposed to blend in, as is the case with most Indian dishes. Hard peas are a major put-off for me too. Ofcourse, most probably you have not spent quite so much of your life thinking about the taste of peas....

Ingredients

for the paste

a tablespoon of poppy seeds

a tablespoon of coriander seeds

a teaspoon of cumin seeds

a couple of inches of Cinnamon

a teaspoon of whole black pepper

3 cloves of garlic

an inch of ginger

as many green chillies as you like

2 tablespoons of freshly grated coconut

a handful of cilantro

about a cup and a half of cubed eggplant

peas

1/2 cup of yogurt

turmeric

chilli powder

Method

Heat some oil in a flat non-stick pan and add eggplant cubes, salt and chilli powder. Toss to combine and spread the eggplant out. Let it sit at a medium low heat till the bottoms are brown. Toss and repeat till the eggplant is cooked. You can cover the pan occasionally if you like. Remove from the pan and reserve.

Grind all the paste ingredients finely. Heat some oil or ghee in the pan and add the paste. Cook the paste for about 5 minutes without allowing it to burn. Add the peas, salt and a cup of water. Stir, cover and allow to simmer till the peas are cooked to your satisfaction. Add the eggplant pieces and stir through.

Turn the heat to low. Beat the yogurt till smooth. Add to the pan to combine. Yogurt will split when added to warm liquids. You dont want to allow this process to continue, as you the yogurt will break down completely. So, let it just heat through for a minute or so, with no boiling at all.

Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice or roti.