Eggplant! Curry! LOVE!

So I have been getting in the habit of buying more vegetables, no matter if I have a plan for them when I buy them or not. When I saw this gorgeous eggplant at the market I drooled over it like a medium rare prime rib.

But then I thought, hmm how would I like to eat this eggplant? I wanted to try something different than eggplant parm. So I turned to my veggie friendly cookbooks and voila:

I found a great recipe in my Moosewood cookbook. For those that may have it, its from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant.

Eggplant, Red Pepper, and Spinach Curry

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
salt

1 lg. Spanish onion, chopped
2 tbsp. vegetable oil or ghee
1 Tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger root
1 Tbsp ground cumin seeds
2 teasp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup coconut milk
1 c. water
10 0z. spinach, washed and stemmed
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch sq.
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

cooked rice (i used quinoa)
toasted cashews (optional)

Directions:
Sprinkle the eggplant cubes w/ salt, place them in a colander, and set aside for 20-30 mins.
In a medium pot, saute the onion in the oil until translucent. Add the spices and saute for another minute or two, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
Rinse the salt off the eggplant cubes and allow to drain. Add them to the pot along with the coconut milk and water (I forgot to add the water and was pleased with the consistency at the end, plus I used the whole can of coconut milk). Cover and simmer on low heat for 10-15 mins. or until the eggplant is just tender.
Meanwhile, in another pot cook the spinach in a small amount of water until limp but still bright green. Drain in a colander and save this liquid to add to the curry if it seems dry...mine didn't. When the spinach is cool enough to handle, chop it.
Add the bell pepper swuares to the eggplant mixure, cook for 5 mins. more, then stir in chopped spinach, lemon juice, and additional salt if desired. Simmer another 2 or 3 mins, with the peppers still tender but not mushy and the spinach still quite green.
Serve on rice (i used Quinoa) and top with toasted cashews.

Dan thought that the liquid from the curry may be better soaked by the rice, but we loved the nutty flavor and crunchy texture that the quinoa added. Delish and colorful dish. I dont have any idea about the calories but its almost all veggies! Curry makes everything taste amazing in my opinion.

Enjoy zis hot dish. you will LOVE LOVE it.