Aubergine and Green Bean Curry

Yup, no school run means more cookin'. Time to grill some auberine.

This time in wedges for a curry. I then made some curry paste with onion, coriander, cumin, garlic, lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, and a couple of mild chillis.

Have I mentioned I love my food processor? It's the kind of love that really lasts.

The paste and grilled aubergine went in the fridge overnight, because I was fed up with cooking at that point and my husband offered to cook something else instead.

So the next day, when we got back from our outing, I cooked the paste for a while, then put in the aubergines (5 in total).

In went a can of tomatoes and a can of coconut milk.

That went in to simmer for a half hour and looked like a gloupy mess.

I toasted some cashews. If you pronounce it Ca-SHOOOOO! you can pretend you are sneezing.

Once the curry had simmered long enough I put in green beans just long enough really to heat them through, a few minutes.

And I artfully chopped some cilantro/fresh coriander on a chopping board that was given to us as a wedding gift. It took us some 7 years to gather the courage to actually use it (it's real purdy), but we're over that now.

And finally, it all went together on some rice. All was well with the world, especially since there was enough left over to make another family meal for the freezer. Of course, when I say "family meal", I mean my husband and I will eat it, my eldest will force half of his down, and the other two will try to dig out the rice not touching the curry.

For the recipe, you can go here, or find it copied and pasted below:

For the curry paste
5-6 shallots (or 1 onion), peeled and finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2 thumb-sized pieces ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 lemongrass stalks, tough outer layers removed, finely sliced
5-6 green chillies (medium-hot), deseeded and roughly chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric

For the curry
5 large aubergines
About 6 tbsp sunflower oil
300ml passata, or sieved roasted tomatoes
400ml tin coconut milk
300g french beans
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful chopped coriander leaves
75g cashews or almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
Lime wedges, to serve

Put all the curry paste ingredients in a blender with a tablespoon of water; whizz to a coarse paste. If necessary, stop the motor a few times so you can scrape down the sides.

Cut each aubergine in half lengthways, cut each half into three lengthways, then halve each piece, so you end up with 12 wedges from each aubergine.

Heat two or three tablespoons of oil over a medium-high heat in a large, nonstick frying pan. Sauté the aubergine wedges in batches, until lightly browned, adding more oil as needed. As you remove each cooked batch from the pan, lay the wedges on kitchen paper to drain.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large, deep saucepan and add half the curry paste (refrigerate the rest for another use). Fry over medium heat, stirring constantly, for three to four minutes, then add the aubergines and stir for a minute or two until coated with the spice mixture. Add the passata and coconut milk, and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes. Add the french beans and simmer until tender – about five minutes.

Season generously, then stir in the chopped coriander. If using the nuts, scatter them over the top. Serve with lime wedges and rice.