Aubergine, Paneer, and Cashew Curry
For the fifth ‘Cooking With’ collaboration with Still Here Still Life, I cooked an curry with aubergine, paneer, cashews and Indian spices. The comparison of North and South Indian cooking, doesn’t really cover the full diversity of the country’s cuisine, leaving out important flavours of the East and West, but as a starting point, it’s exciting to me that the style of cooking depends on the landscape.
Geographically, Northern Indian cooking is often inspired by the Middle East, whereas Southern Indian cooking is more inspired by South East Asian flavours, and the differences in climate and crops have a important impact on the two cuisines. In terms of grains, the milder temperature of Northern India grows are conducive to growing wheat, so naan and roti are more commonly produced and eaten, while rice and lentils are suited better to tropical climates, and so are used more in Southern Indian food. Vegetables and seafood are also used more commonly in Southern Indian cooking, both due to the close proximity to the sea, and because the tropical climates encourage a wider range and stronger crop of vegetable. In contrast, meat is more commonly produced and used in the North.
Dairy is also used very differently. Yoghurts are used across both diets, but Northern Indians cook with a lot of ghee, and use dairy to thicken curries, whereas in Southern Indian cooking, coconut milk is used instead. This is again down to the climate, and is why the curries are wetter rather than thick. This is another reason for the prevalence of rice in the Southern diet - to soak up the curry. In terms of spices, in the South, they are ground into wet masalas, like the one I make for the curry recipe here, whereas in the North spices are dry-roasted. Northern Indian cuisine tends to be less spicy in comparison to the tangier, spicier flavours used in Southern cooking, like in many tropical cultures.
Except for the paneer, this recipe is vegan, so you can just omit the paneer or use tofu as an alternative. Or add more vegetables - courgette, chickpeas or cauliflower would be delicious. There are also lots of nuts in these recipes, so if you are allergic, it is easy to leave them out. It won’t affect the curry but the coriander dip will be a little more runny and will need more salt to make up for what is lost from the peanuts. I served the curry and coriander dip alongside some basmati rice and pink pickled onions for a pop of colour! I love the soft texture of the aubergine in this curry, so I’d recommend keeping that.
For 2 people
Ingredients
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large white onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
3 garlic cloves
20g fresh ginger
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground chilli powder
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
320ml coconut cream
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium aubergine
226g paneer (1 pack)
100g cashews
1 tsp fine sea salt
Method:
Finely chop the onion. You can also blitz it in the food processor - the finer it is, the better it will hold the flavours of spices that we will add.
Heat a frying pan and add the 2tbsp of rapeseed oil.
Add the cumin seeds and the cinnamon stick and allow to fry for about 2 minutes on low heat to become fragrant. Do not let them burn!
Then add the onions and continue to cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in your food processor, add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, garam masala, ground coriander, chilli powder and 3 tbsp rapeseed oil and blitz together until it is a smooth paste.
Add the paste to the pan with the onions and cook for 10 minutes until fragrant and the onions are soft.
Transfer the contents of frying pan to a pot and add coconut cream. Put a lid on and continue to cook on the lowest heat while completing the next steps. Keep the pan for the aubergine.
Chop the aubergine into 3x3cm cubes and roughly rip the paneer (or the tofu) into a similar size.
In the same frying pan as used for the onions (to keep all of the delicious leftover flavours), heat the 4tbsp of vegetable oil.
Fry the aubergine for about 10 minutes, until soft and golden.
Then add the paneer, cashew nuts, and the sea salt to the pan and fry with the aubergine for another 10 minutes until they are slightly toasted.
Turn the pan off and keep a few pieces of the aubergine, cashew nuts and paneer (or tofu) aside for the topping.
Add the rest of the aubergine, paneer (or tofu), and cashew nuts to the pot with the curry base and stir. Heat until bubbling hot.
Serve with basmati rice, fresh coriander and pink pickled onions.
I also wanted to mention a few of my favourite Indian chefs, academics, cookbooks, restaurants and producers. I am sure I will be topping up this list as I learn more:
Pushpesh Pant is an Indian academic, food critic and historian, who produced a cookbook, very simply called “India”, which contains 1,000 easy-to-follow, authentic recipes covering the length and breadth of India, and also provides a wealth of information on the different regional cooking styles, the food philosophies of India, and guides to cooking equipment and ingredients.
Meera Sodha, is a chef, food writer, and author of “East”, “Made In India” and “Fresh India”. She is also the Guardian's 'New Vegan' columnist.
Asma Khan is a chef and owner of restaurant Darjeeling Express. She has just opened a new site in Covent Garden, which we are so excited to be visiting on the 12th of December.
Shamil Thakrar, owner and producer of the Dishoom restaurants and cookbook
Diasporaco is a direct trade, single-origin spice company, founded in 2017 by Sana Javeri Kadri, which is dedicated to building a better spice trade. They put money, equity, and power into the hands of Indian farmers, to disrupt, and decolonize an outdated commodity spice trading system. Through extensive taste testing, farm visits, and collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, we source the very best spices that India has to offer.
Avinash Shashidhara, former River Cafe chef and now head chef of new Indian restaurant Pali Hill, in Fitzrovia London, which introduces the best regional Indian family recipes, brought straight from the home kitchens of Mumbai.
*Disclaimer Please note in the video on Instagram, I said “spice tin” when the correct term is a ‘Masala Dabba’. Once again I want to make clear that, as with all of my cooking that I share on this platform, I am in no way claiming the food culture, heritage or knowledge as my own, this is a recipe inspired by Indian cooking. I am just an amateur cook who enjoys learning about the stories, processes and ingredients of various food cultures.
Ingredients
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large white onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
3 garlic cloves
20g fresh ginger
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground chilli powder
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
320ml coconut cream
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium aubergine
226g paneer (1 pack)
100g cashews
1 tsp fine sea salt
Method:
Finely chop the onion. You can also blitz it in the food processor - the finer it is, the better it will hold the flavours of spices that we will add.
Heat a frying pan and add the 2tbsp of rapeseed oil.
Add the cumin seeds and the cinnamon stick and allow to fry for about 2 minutes on low heat to become fragrant. Do not let them burn!
Then add the onions and continue to cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in your food processor, add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, garam masala, ground coriander, chilli powder and 3 tbsp rapeseed oil and blitz together until it is a smooth paste.
Add the paste to the pan with the onions and cook for 10 minutes until fragrant and the onions are soft.
Transfer the contents of frying pan to a pot and add coconut cream. Put a lid on and continue to cook on the lowest heat while completing the next steps. Keep the pan for the aubergine.
Chop the aubergine into 3x3cm cubes and roughly rip the paneer (or the tofu) into a similar size.
In the same frying pan as used for the onions (to keep all of the delicious leftover flavours), heat the 4tbsp of vegetable oil.
Fry the aubergine for about 10 minutes, until soft and golden.
Then add the paneer, cashew nuts, and the sea salt to the pan and fry with the aubergine for another 10 minutes until they are slightly toasted.
Turn the pan off and keep a few pieces of the aubergine, cashew nuts and paneer (or tofu) aside for the topping.
Add the rest of the aubergine, paneer (or tofu), and cashew nuts to the pot with the curry base and stir. Heat until bubbling hot.
Serve with basmati rice, fresh coriander and pink pickled onions.
I also wanted to mention a few of my favourite Indian chefs, academics, cookbooks, restaurants and producers. I am sure I will be topping up this list as I go along:
Pushpesh Pant is an Indian academic, food critic and historian, who produced a cookbook, very simply called “India”, which contains 1,000 easy-to-follow, authentic recipes covering the length and breadth of India, and also provides a wealth of information on the different regional cooking styles, the food philosophies of India, and guides to cooking equipment and ingredients.
Meera Sodha, is a chef, food writer, and author of “East”, “Made In India” and “Fresh India”. She is also the Guardian's 'New Vegan' columnist.
Asma Khan is a chef and owner of restaurant Darjeeling Express. She has just opened a new site in Covent Garden, which we are so excited to be visiting on the 12th of December.
Shamil Thakrar, owner and producer of the Dishoom restaurants and cookbook
Diasporaco is a direct trade, single-origin spice company, founded in 2017 by Sana Javeri Kadri, which is dedicated to building a better spice trade. They put money, equity, and power into the hands of Indian farmers, to disrupt, and decolonize an outdated commodity spice trading system. Through extensive taste testing, farm visits, and collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, we source the very best spices that India has to offer.
Avinash Shashidhara, former River Cafe chef and now head chef of new Indian restaurant Pali Hill, in Fitzrovia London, which introduces the best regional Indian family recipes, brought straight from the home kitchens of Mumbai.
*Disclaimer Please note in the video on Instagram, I said “spice tin” when the correct term is a ‘Masala Dabba’. Once again I want to make clear that, as with all of my cooking that I share on this platform, I am in no way claiming the food culture, heritage or knowledge as my own, this is a recipe inspired by Indian cooking. I am just an amateur cook who enjoys learning about the stories, processes and ingredients of various food cultures.
Ingredients
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large white onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
3 garlic cloves
20g fresh ginger
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground chilli powder
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
320ml coconut cream
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium aubergine
226g paneer (1 pack)
100g cashews
1 tsp fine sea salt
Method:
Finely chop the onion. You can also blitz it in the food processor - the finer it is, the better it will hold the flavours of spices that we will add.
Heat a frying pan and add the 2tbsp of rapeseed oil.
Add the cumin seeds and the cinnamon stick and allow to fry for about 2 minutes on low heat to become fragrant. Do not let them burn!
Then add the onions and continue to cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in your food processor, add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, garam masala, ground coriander, chilli powder and 3 tbsp rapeseed oil and blitz together until it is a smooth paste.
Add the paste to the pan with the onions and cook for 10 minutes until fragrant and the onions are soft.
Transfer the contents of frying pan to a pot and add coconut cream. Put a lid on and continue to cook on the lowest heat while completing the next steps. Keep the pan for the aubergine.
Chop the aubergine into 3x3cm cubes and roughly rip the paneer (or the tofu) into a similar size.
In the same frying pan as used for the onions (to keep all of the delicious leftover flavours), heat the 4tbsp of vegetable oil.
Fry the aubergine for about 10 minutes, until soft and golden.
Then add the paneer, cashew nuts, and the sea salt to the pan and fry with the aubergine for another 10 minutes until they are slightly toasted.
Turn the pan off and keep a few pieces of the aubergine, cashew nuts and paneer (or tofu) aside for the topping.
Add the rest of the aubergine, paneer (or tofu), and cashew nuts to the pot with the curry base and stir. Heat until bubbling hot.
Serve with basmati rice, fresh coriander and pink pickled onions.
I also wanted to mention a few of my favourite Indian chefs, academics, cookbooks, restaurants and producers. I am sure I will be topping up this list as I go along:
Pushpesh Pant is an Indian academic, food critic and historian, who produced a cookbook, very simply called “India”, which contains 1,000 easy-to-follow, authentic recipes covering the length and breadth of India, and also provides a wealth of information on the different regional cooking styles, the food philosophies of India, and guides to cooking equipment and ingredients.
Meera Sodha, is a chef, food writer, and author of “East”, “Made In India” and “Fresh India”. She is also the Guardian's 'New Vegan' columnist.
Asma Khan is a chef and owner of restaurant Darjeeling Express. She has just opened a new site in Covent Garden, which we are so excited to be visiting on the 12th of December.
Shamil Thakrar, owner and producer of the Dishoom restaurants and cookbook
Diasporaco is a direct trade, single-origin spice company, founded in 2017 by Sana Javeri Kadri, which is dedicated to building a better spice trade. They put money, equity, and power into the hands of Indian farmers, to disrupt, and decolonize an outdated commodity spice trading system. Through extensive taste testing, farm visits, and collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, we source the very best spices that India has to offer.
Avinash Shashidhara, former River Cafe chef and now head chef of new Indian restaurant Pali Hill, in Fitzrovia London, which introduces the best regional Indian family recipes, brought straight from the home kitchens of Mumbai.
*Disclaimer Please note in the video on Instagram, I said “spice tin” when the correct term is a ‘Masala Dabba’. Once again I want to make clear that, as with all of my cooking that I share on this platform, I am in no way claiming the food culture, heritage or knowledge as my own, this is a recipe inspired by Indian cooking. I am just an amateur cook who enjoys learning about the stories, processes and ingredients of various food cultures.