Eggplant & Potato Curry

Recipe follows story

Inspired by my gastronomic jaunt to Canarsie, and many amazing conversations with a few shop and restaurant owners, I prepared a Guyanese holiday dinner.  The main portion of my meal was meaty, which wouldn’t necessarily work as two of my guests were vegetarians.

Orin Small, owner of Smally West Indian Market in Canarsie, gave me quite the education in Guyanese cuisine, how it was influenced by colonization as well as other cultures that made their way in.  He noted lo mein and fried rice as being two mainstays in Guyanese home cooking and vegetables such as eggplant, Chinese long beans along with okra and cassava are also popular.  I had no shortage of vegetables to choose from, but I needed to figure out a recipe that would qualify them under the umbrella of this meal.  Smally orchestrated my Guyanese meal and gave me the makings for solid vegetarian sides of plantains and coconut rice, but I was left to my own devices for the main fare.    

A trip to the Tastee Pattee Bakery & Grill, led me to opening my dessert choice to Jamaican rock cakes so the recipe for my vegetarian dish needn’t be exclusively Guyanese.  

I broadened my recipe search and found inspiration on caribbeanpot.com.

Chris, of caribbeanpot.com, is cooking up food memories from Trinidad and Tobago and his recipe for potato and eggplant curry looked promising.  

Eggplant is hearty and meaty and, when coupled with potatoes, makes a completely soul and belly stuffing meal.  It’s no hot pepperpot stew, but I hoped this vegetable pairing would provide my non-meaty friends with a substantially satisfying substitute.

I took Chris’ recipe and improvised based on ingredients I had in the house and bits of the main meal that I already had prepared.  

I swapped out water for coconut milk and instead of cooking the eggplant down with the potatoes, I scored it, stuffed it with garlic and roasted it in the oven until it was completely broken down.  Roasting any vegetable greatly increases its flavor.  The browner and more caramelized a vegetable, the more intense flavor you will get from it, so I started there.

And here’s where I landed …

Potato & Eggplant Curry 
makes 5-6 servings 

1 large eggplant
6 cloves of garlic (peeled and each clove sliced in thirds)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3T. curry powder
2 tsp. all spice
1 large sweet onion (diced)
6 white potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1 14 oz. can of coconut milk + equal parts water (use water if necessary)
1 T. green seasoning
2 wiri wiri peppers (de-seeded)
Salt to taste 

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Score eggplant and stuff with garlic
-Place eggplant on a baking sheet and roast for 45-50 minutes until eggplant is collapsed
-Put aside to cool
-Once cool, slice eggplant open and scrape out the flesh and garlic and put aside in a bowl 
-To a large skillet (that has some depth), over medium heat, add oil, curry powder and all spice  and mix until a paste is formed
-Add onions and coat with the curry, cooking for 7-8 minutes
-Add potatoes and toss to coat, cooking for an additional 10 minutes
-Add eggplant and toss to coat
-Pour in coconut milk and additional water if necessary (potatoes should be covered)
-Add green seasoning and spices and allow pot to simmer
-Lower flame, being careful to watch the pot so the potatoes do not stick to the bottom of the spot, and cook for 40-45 minutes until potatoes are fork tender  
-Serve over plain rice or eat alone