Eggplant and Mushroom Tikka Masala

Pictured: Petit, Purple, and Pretty, Fairy Tale Eggplant Hardly Look Real.

Fairy Tale Eggplant are a sweet, small variety of the eggplant family most often recognized for their beautifully striped purple and white skin. They reach full maturity at no more than 3 or 4 inches long, and have all the body of eggplant, but in bite size pieces.

Wanting to add more Indian dishes to Clearly Delicious, I picked up this store-bought masala and curry sauce for a night when I was too exhausted to grind herbs, create chili paste, or crush tomatoes.  Although I rarely use products straight from jars, Patak’s Original Tikka Masala Curry Sauce has an ingredients list any fan of Indian cooking might love–with little or no preservatives, the ingredients are whole foods like yogurt, tomatoes, cumin, curry, and more. I bought mine for $3.99 at World Market (see product and store locator here), but you can easily find it online here.

Pictured: Patak’s Original Tikka Masala Curry Sauce isn’t your normal sauce in a can.  Filled with whole ingredients like tomatoes, yogurt, lemon, cilantro, and other exotic spices, it’s an easy way to produce Indian food in a snap.

Dressed in a Curry-Infused Masala Sauce and cozied up next to some lovely shiitake mushrooms, this masala sauce had an asian–if not fairy tale–flare.  Use Patak’s Masala Sauce for easy Indian cooking any night of the week, or, if you’re feeling dangerous, make your own masala sauce with the one here.

Eggplant and Mushroom Tikka Masala

Masala Sauce is a combination of tomato paste and yogurt that comes together in an orange-colored balance brought to life with Indian spices and spicy peppers.  Although there is not standard recipe for masala sauce, you can make your own by trying these ingredients lists here and here.

Ingredients:

*1 pound fairy tale eggplant (or other variety), cut in half and de-stemmed

*coarse salt, for tenderizing

*3 tablespoons vegetable oil

*1 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and wiped clean

*3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

*1 tablespoon cilantro, plus more to garnish

*1 (10-ounce) jar Patak’s Tikka Masala Curry Sauce

1.) Wash eggplant, remove stems, and cut in half longways.  Place eggplant in a strainer in the sink and sprinkle each layer with a tablespoon of coarse salt.  Allow eggplant to rest for 30 minutes, or until fully tenderized and “sweaty.”

2.) Warm a nonstick pan over medium-high heat and add three tablespoons vegetable oil.  Toss eggplant and mushrooms until fully coated and add garlic and cilantro to the mixture.  Pan fry mixture for 15 or more minutes until tender and cooked down.

3.) Add Patak’s Tikka Masala Curry Sauce to pan and coat fully.  Turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.  Plate over rice and garnish with cilantro.  Makes 4 servings.

–Helana Brigman

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