RECIPE :: Aubergine and chickpea jalfrezee

(6 servings)

I absolutely love this recipe and it is one that I made a lot during my stay at the Centre for Alternative Technology. The aubergines themselves are good enough served on their own with a mild green salad.

Ingredients
Stuffed aubergines
4tbsp of olive oil,
1 handful of fresh coriander,
2 cloves of garlic,
juice of a lemon,
1tsp of salt,
4 medium aubergines,

Jalfrezee sauce
1tsp of coriander seeds,
2tsp of cumin seeds,
1tsp of fennel seeds,
250ml of tomato puree,
125ml of tamari,
4tbsp of maple syrup,
75ml of fresh lemon juice,
3 cloves of crushed garlic,
2 inches of fresh ginger (peeled and thinly diced),
½ tsp of cinnamon,
1tsp of red wine vinegar and
1tsp of salt.

2tbsp of olive oil,
1 onion (finely chopped),
1 pepper (thinly chopped) and
500g of cooked chickpeas.

Method
1) Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180C / 350F.
2) To make the stuffed aubergines; combine 4tbsp of the oil, coriander, garlic, lemon juice and salt into a blender and whiz until smooth.
3) Take the aubergines and slice them length ways from 1cm from the top to 1cm from the bottom so that you leave an area that you can stuff them with the coriander puree. Stuff them with the coriander puree. Loosely place a piece of foil over the aubergines and bake for 1 hour or until the flesh has softened.
4) Remove the aubergine skin and mince the flesh. Put to one side.
5) To make the jalfrezee sauce; dry fry and crush the coriander, cumin and fennel seeds. Place all the ingredients into a blender and whiz away until smooth.
6) To finish off; fry the onion in the remaining oil over a medium/low heat for 5 minutes. Add the peppers to the onions and fry for a further 5 minute.
7) Combine the minced aubergines, chickpeas and the jalfrezee sauce with the onions and peppers and fry for 10 minutes or until sufficiently hot. Serve immediately.