Eggplant Pecan Curry

This recipe is from the wonderfully old Moosewood Cookbook in my mother's cookbook cabinet. Yes. She has a cabinet for cookbooks.

Anyway. This recipe was one that we happened upon during my visit and that I'm just now getting the chance to blog about.

It was good, but not great. So why am I even writing this post? Because it could be wonderful with some little tweaks I'll add in. It was just too spicy for me (wimp that I am, I know) and the spice covered up any flavors that were there - which I found, honestly, to be minimal. So with some up on the spices (not the spicy kind, though!) and some more coconut flavor, I think this will be golden!

We served this over some quinoa with a great big salad and some steak for those who wanted to use this as a side dish.



Eggplant Pecan Curry
Serves 4-6

• 2 T oil
• 3 cloves garlic - crushed
• 1 1/2 t freshly grated ginger root
• 1 1/2 c onion - minced
• 1 t dry mustard
• 1 1/2 t turmeric
  
• 1/2 t cayenne (or less!!)
• 1 (heavy) t cumin
• 1 t allspice
• 2 T flour
• water as needed
• 1 1lb eggplant - cut into 1 in cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 c chopped toasted pecans
• 2/3 c coconut milk (or more if you're like me and like it a little more soupy)
• 1/2 c coconut flakes
• Some carrots maybe? I don't know, I'm just thinking that it needed a little something extra and carrots may be the thing. So about 1 cup chopped carrots would do I think.
  

--Saute garlic, ginger, and onion with oil in large skillet for about 5 minutes until soft.
--Add the spices, and stir in the flour. Continue to stir and cook for 5-8 minutes, adding water to prevent from sticking. I ended up using close to a 1/2 cup.
--Add eggplant (and carrots if using!), stir, and lower heat. Cover and cook (stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed) for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are soft.
--Once tender, add the remaining ingredients and cook (and stir) for an additional 5-8 minutes.

Serve on it's own, over a hearty grain like quinoa or brown rice, or but in a bread bowl if you'd like. Just enjoy it!