Spicy Indian Eggplant

Put the eggplant pieces in a colander, sprinkle them with salt and leave them out for 30 min. to allow any bitter juices to run out. Rinse, squeeze out any excess water, then pat dry with paper towels. If using fresh tomatoes, score a cross in the top of each and plunge into boiling water for 20 seconds. Drain and peel away from the cross. Roughly chop the tomatoes, discarding the cores and seeds and reserving any juices.

Puree the ginger and garlic with one-third of the tomato in a blender or food processor. If you don’t have a blender, finely chop the tomatoes and mix with the ginger and garlic.

Heat 125ml. of oil in a large, deep, heavy-based frying pan and when hot, add as many eggplant pieces as you can fit in a single layer. Cook over a medium heat until brown on both sides, then transfer to a sieve over a bowls so that the excess oil can drain off. Add the remaining oil to the pan as needed and cook the rest of the eggplant in batches.

Reheat the oil that’s left in the pan and add the fennel seeds and nigella seeds. Cover and allow to pop for a few seconds. Add the tomato and ginger mixture and the remaining ingredients, except the eggplant. Cook, stirring regularly for 5-6 minutes, until the mixture becomes thick and fairly smooth (be careful as it may spit at you). Carefully add the cooked eggplant so the pieces stay whole, cover the pan and cook gently for about 10 minutes.

Store the eggplant in the sauce in the fridge. Pour off any excess oil before serving. The eggplant can either be served cold or gently warmed through.