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Eggplant pachadi

Eggplant pachadi

“For three years now I’ve been longing for more of the eggplant pachadi at Hanuman in Darwin. As I don’t seem to be making it back to Darwin, would you request the recipe please?”
Roberta Curr, Farrer, ACT

Request a recipe
To request a recipe, write to Fare Exchange, Australian Gourmet Traveller, GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 2001, or email us. All requests should include the restaurant’s name and address or business card, as well as your name and address.

Eggplant pachadi

Serves 4
Cooking Time Prep time 25 mins, cook 25 mins (plus draining)
12   Japanese eggplant, halved lengthways
140 ml   vegetable oil
1   Spanish onion, finely chopped
15 gm (3cm piece)   ginger, finely grated
2   garlic cloves, finely chopped
3   cardamom pods, bruised
3   cloves
2 tsp each   ground cumin, coriander and chilli
½ each   star anise and cinnamon quill
½ tsp   brown mustard seeds
¼ tsp   fennel seeds
1 sprig   fresh curry leaves
125 ml (½ cup)   tomato passata
125 ml (½ cup)   sambal asli (see note)
2   vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped
To taste:   caster sugar
To serve:   coriander


1 Place eggplant in a colander, scatter with 2 tsp fine sea salt and set aside for bitter juices to drain (15 minutes).
2 Meanwhile, heat 40ml oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add onion and sauté until tender (5-7 minutes). Add ginger and garlic, sauté until tender (1-2 minutes). Add spices and curry leaves, cook until fragrant (1-2 minutes), add passata, sambal asli and tomato, stir occasionally until flavours develop (5-7 minutes). Season to taste with caster sugar and fine sea salt, keep warm.
3 Heat remaining oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Rinse eggplant under cold running water, pat dry with absorbent paper, then fry in batches, turning occasionally, until golden (2-3 minutes on each side). Drain on absorbent paper, then serve hot drizzled with sauce and scattered with coriander.

Note Sambal asli is an Indonesian chilli sauce available from Asian grocers.

This recipe is from the August 2010 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.

RECIPE Hanuman, Darwin PHOTOGRAPHY William Meppem STYLING Geraldine Munoz and Alice Storey

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