Curry paste:

• 2 tablespoons grated coconut
• 1 teaspoon each: mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons curry leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds (without pods)
• 2 small stalks cinnamon
• 2 fresh green chilies
• 3 big cloves garlic
• 3 teaspoon fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

I toasted coconut on a dry frying pan until it was nicely browned. Then I toasted all the dry spices: mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, curry leaves, cardamom seeds, and cinnamon, until an exquisite scent appeared, after about 3 minutes. Then I ground all of the ingredients together, until a smooth paste resulted.

Toasting spices and coconut.

Eggplant and Split Chick Pea Curry:

• 1 small eggplant (350 g)
• 1 onion, cubed
• 2 dl chana dal (dried split chickpeas)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 4 dl + 2 dl water
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons cilantro (fresh coriander leaves), finely chopped

First, I cut the eggplant in cubes, drizzled with salt, and put in a colander. Then, I rinsed the chana dal, and let it soak in a bowl filled with cold water while I was doing other things.

Now, I heated a frying pan with the oil in it, and then fried the onion until browned. I now added the eggplants and fried them for a few minutes until they started to turn brown and get soft. Now, I moved onion and eggplant toward the sides of the frying pan, added the curry paste in the middle of the pan, and fried it for a few minutes.

After frying the curry paste for a while, I rinsed the chana dal once again, and added that to the pan. Then I added a teaspoon of turmeric for color, and stirred the curry to cover chana dal and eggplant with the curry paste.

Now, I added 4 dl water, lowered the heat, covered the pan, and let it simmer for 40 minutes. Then I added the rest of the water and let the curry simmer until chana dal was soft, about 30 minutes.

Before serving, I mixed in the lemon juice, and sprinkled on the cilantro.

Cucumber Mint Yogurt Sauce:

• 1,5 dl plain soy yogurt
• 1 dl grated cucumber
• 1 teaspoon dried mint
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

I grated the cucumber, and squeezed it in my fist to get rid of some moisture. Then I mixed everything together and served immediately. For a mintier taste, I would refrigerate the yogurt sauce for an hour or so, and use fresh mint leaves if they are available.