Off the shelf, out of the freezer - Eggplant Curry

We worked hard all summer growing lovely plants and eating as much of them as we possibly could, but, as always, the harvest exceeded our daily capacity to consume. The result was a pantry full of jams, jellies, butters, pickles, and chutneys. The freezer was also filled to capacity with tomatoes; roasted and sauced, green beans, peppers, eggplant, berries and (lucky us) chanterelle mushrooms.

The winter challenge now becomes how to make the most of our bountiful stored harvest. Our eggplant harvest had been quite good - more than we could eat at the time, so I had cubed, blanched and frozen several pints for later. I had not tried that before, so was unsure of how the texture and flavor would hold up. To my delight, it's great.

Last night's dinner was Bryani, curried eggplant, green beans and, tomatoes over brown rice. For many years I have used and loved this recipe with fresh ingredients. This time I used eggplant, beans and, tomatoes from my freezer, along with onions from the cellar. The result was very nice. Here is my recipe, which I've adapted from a recipe in The Vegetarian Epicure, published in 1972.

I think the key to this is the individual spices, toasted in butter before the vegetables are added. This version is quick and easy.

Bryani

2 TBS Butter

1 TBS Olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 1/2 tsp custard seeds

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp coriander

2 cloves minced garlic

Melt the butter, then add all of the spices and cook for a few minutes, until bubbly and fragrant.

Add:

1 onion, coarsely chopped

Saute until beginning to soften, then add:

Eggplant, 3 cups cubed
green beans, 1 1/2 cups cut into 2" pieces

Stir to coat all vegetables with the spices and cook until they are just barely softened or unfrozen. Don't overcook or they will become mushy - especially if using frozen produce.

Near serving time Add 1 cup diced tomatoes - I used a package of previously frozen oven-roasted tomatoes

1/2 cup raisins or currants

1/3 cup chopped nuts - cashews, almonds, or pine nuts.

Cook until heated through, about 6 minutes, serve and  enjoy.

Serve with rice and perhaps a dollop of yogurt.

I was surprised at how flavorful the eggplant was. The texture was fine and all ingredients worked well together. The final dish may not have been as attractive as when made with fresh ingredients, but that could also have been because I was interrupted by a lengthy phone call and left it on the stove longer than I had planned.
* A bonus - the leftovers were great!