KATKAT'S KITCHEN

Today was a red letter day rather than a red pepper day a eggplant, red pepper, spinach and chickpea curry, was not meant to be part of it. First of all two rooms in my house have the floor boards up which is not conducive to cooking. Secondly it was the weirdest experience walking back from the gym in central London today.

The London riots have become the UK riots and the gym became part of that debacle. I walked to Tooting this afternoon and counted 17 policemen from Amen corner to Tooting Broadway tube, I think that this is the first time I have seen a police presence in London.

I did an extra half an hour of floor exercises and by the time I had done thirty minutes on the cross trainer plus three other half an hours of exercise I was knackered. I left the gym as usual as 18.00 but that is when any similarity to a normal day ended. The shops were shut and Tooting was like a ghost town. I think the police presence was to close all the businesses.

However, that left me not able to shop, I can’t say the idea of Eggplant Spinach red pepper and chickpea curry popped into my head, – I am so hungry when I leave the gym nothing much was registering other than the growl in my stomach. I have tried eating earlier in the day but that just makes me want to fall asleep, so I had eaten nothing all day.

How was the idea of Eggplant, red pepper, spinach and chickpea curry born?

I went home shattered and disgruntled and looked in the fridge and found a beautiful eggplant from my garden a solitary red pepper and some delightful red Bombay onions. My store cupboard revealed some Madras paste I made last weekend and a can of chickpeas. So it was not rocket science, that is how the idea of Eggplant, red pepper, spinach and chickpea curry was born. – out of starvation and desperation. I wanted dinner and I wanted it fast. A ten minute curry from scratch is possible. For sure the Eggplant, red pepper, spinach and chickpea curry will taste better tomorrow, so I made enough for two days to allow the flavours to develop.

Certainly the meaty texture of the aubergine was conforting tonight it always feels as though you are eating something substantial. Eggplants are a prosaic americanisation of the more descriptive word aubergine, as the vegetable is known in Europe. Although I have to say that I prefer the Hindi word brinjal, and because the flavours has not had time to develop it was improved by the addition of brinjal pickle as well. Good job the brinjals are in season at the moment because I will have to make some more brinjal pickle soon as I am on the last jar.You can find more about brinjalshere , technically they are a fruit and not a vegetable

Eggplant, red pepper, spinach and chickpea curry, the recipe

1 large heirloom aubergine,
2 red onions,
1 red pepper (I would have used 2 but one was all I had)
2 tomatoes
about a jar of tomato passatta
2 large tablespoons of Madras curry paste
Can of cooked chickpeas

Method for Eggplant, red pepper, spinach and chickpea curry
Fried the onions in a little olive oil and added the rest of the ingredients ans simmered ten minutes. The best thing about this Eggplant, red pepper, spinach and chickpea curry was that it has taken longer to type the recipe than it did to cook.

As you know if you have been following my blog I do not like mixed vegetable curries, I prefer to cook a Channa Dhall with chicpeas, a spinach curry and also an aubergine curry, but when you need a ten minute curry challenge all of that goes out of the window. Tonight it did not touch the sides, but tomorrow it will be lovely, I am already looking forward to my Eggplant, red pepper, spinach and chickpea curry