Eggplant spinach curry using spices, sauces and yogurt makes a very creamy, delicious vegetarian curry with spinach gravy that goes great with rice or Indian flatbreads like chapathi, naan bread etc!
The combination of eggplants, which is also known as brinjal or aubergine, with spinach is great and you can easily spice it up with your choice of spices, sauces and flavors.
The combination of eggplants or aubergine and spinach leaves is also popular in Indian cuisine where it is known as palak baingan sabzi (palak refers to spinach and baingan refers to brinjal or eggplants), however it is a different preparation.
Eggplants In Creamy Spinach Yogurt Gravy
This easy and delicious eggplant spinach curry is prepared by cooking lightly fried eggplant cubes in a creamy spinach gravy.
The creamy spinach gravy is made by blending fresh spinach leaves & yogurt (curd) and then the gravy is cooked along with eggplants & sauteed onions and spices.
We also add a little amount of sauces like soy sauce, barbecue saue and also a little sugar to balance the sourness of the yogurt and we finally add a little heavy cream too, to make the perfect & delicious eggplant & spinach curry.
The base for this delicious eggplant curry is the spinach gravy, which is prepared using pureed spinach leaves similar to the preparation of recipes like restaurant style palak paneer, instant pot palak paneer, easy palak paneer without cream.
This mustard greens curry is also prepared in a similar fashion where the mustard green leaves are cooked and pureed to make the base for the gravy.
Sauces & Spices
We use some sauces and spices to make this delicious eggplant spinach curry very flavorful.
The addition of sauces like soy sauce and barbecue sauce is something that is not traditional in the Indian cuisine, but eventhough this recipe is adapted from the Indian preparation of palak based curry, its different since we use sauces along with the spices.
The spices we use in this recipe includes garlic, ginger, turmeric, red chili powder etc and the dish not spicy and it’s an easy fix to add some greens and vegetables to even kids diet.
How To Make Creamy Eggplant Spinach Curry?
We use the following ingredients to make this creamy & delicious eggplant spinach curry that goes great as a side dish with rice or chapathi, naan etc.
Ingredients to make eggplant spinach curry
eggplant 1 large sized
spinach leaves 2 cups
water 2 cups (may adjust the amount slightly)
oil 2 to 3 tablespoons
ghee or butter 1 tablespoon
yogurt 3 tablespoons
heavy cream 4 tablespoons
onions 2 medium sized
soy sauce 1 teaspoon
barbecue sauce 2 teaspoons
tamarind paste 1 teaspoon
sugar 1 teaspoon
spices:
turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
red chili powder 1/2 teaspoon
garlic 2 cloves peeled & crushed
ginger 1 tablespoon crushed
garam masala powder 2 teaspoons
coriander powder 1 teaspoon
italian seasoning 1 teaspoon
Step By Step Instructions
Slice the eggplant in medium sized cubes.
In a large frying pan, add the oil and lightly fry the eggplant slices. Transfer the eggplants to a separate bowl.
In the same pan, add sliced onions and lightly fry for few minutes (about 3 to 4 minutes).
Also add garlic and ginger and saute for another 2 minutes.
Add turmeric powder and salt, stir well. Saute the onions for few more minutes.
Meanwhile, make a spinach puree by blending the spinach leaves along with the water in a blender.
Also add the yogurt to the blender and blend again until smooth.
Add this spinach yogurt mixture to the pan, add enough salt and stir everything well.
Also add the eggplants to the pan. Stir everything well and let the mixture saute for few more minutes.
Also add the tamarind paste and stir in well to blend with the contents in the pan.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pan with lid and cook this mixture of eggplants and spinach in low heat for about 15 to 18 minutes or until the eggplants are cooked and soft.
Once the eggplants and the spinach gravy is cooked enough, add all the remaining spice powders, sugar, soy sauce and barbecue sauce and also add the butter (or ghee).
Stir well and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. If needed, you may cover and cook for another couple of minutes.
Once this is done, add the heavy cream also to the pan (you can also sprinkle a little more italian seasoning on top).
Stir well to mix with the curry and the delicious eggplant spinach curry is ready to be served!
Enjoy the eggplant spinach curry with rice or Indian breads like chapathi, poori, naan bread etc as you like!
Notes: To make the best eggplant spinach curry, make sure to cook the curry until the eggplants are completely cooked and soft and tender in texture.
If the eggplant pieces are not cooked enough, they may feel rubbery in texture.
When the eggplant pieces are completely cooked and soft, they also add more flavor to the curry as we simmer the curry.
More Eggplant Curry Recipes:
eggplant curry in creamy tomato onion gravy
Punjabi baingan bharta (roasted eggplant curry)
fried eggplant curry in coconut cashew gravy
Below you can get the recipe for eggplant spinach curry in detail.
Eggplant Spinach Curry With Yogurt – Eggplant In Creamy Spinach Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 large size eggplant
- 2 cups spinach leaves
- 2 medium sized onions
- 2 cups water may adjust the amount slightly
- 2 tablespoons oil may use slightly more if needed
- 1 tablespoon butter or ghee
- 3 tablespoons yogurt
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons barbecue sauce
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Spices:
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 cloves garlic peeled & crushed
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced or crushed
- 2 teaspoons garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
Instructions
- Slice the eggplant in medium sized cubes. In a large frying pan, add the oil and lightly fry the eggplant slices.
- Transfer the eggplants to a separate bowl.
- In the same pan, add sliced onions and lightly fry for few minutes (about 3 to 4 minutes).Also add garlic and ginger and saute for another 2 minutes.Add turmeric powder and salt, stir well. Saute the onions for few more minutes.
- Meanwhile, make a spinach puree by blending the spinach leaves along with the water in a blender.Also add the yogurt to the blender and blend again until smooth.
- Add this spinach yogurt mixture to the pan, add enough salt and stir everything well.
- Also add the eggplants to the pan. Stir everything well and let the mixture saute for few more minutes.
- Also add the tamarind paste and stir in well to blend with the contents in the pan, let it simmer.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pan with lid and cook this mixture of eggplants and spinach in low heat for about 15 to 18 minutes or until the eggplants are cooked and soft.Once the eggplants and the spinach gravy is cooked enough, add all the remaining spice powders, sugar, soy sauce and barbecue sauce and also add the butter (or ghee).Stir well and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. If needed, you may cover and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Once this is done, add the heavy cream also to the pan (you can also sprinkle a little more italian seasoning on top).
- Stir well to mix with the curry and the delicious eggplant spinach curry is ready to be served. Enjoy the eggplant spinach curry with rice or Indian breads like chapathi, poori, naan bread etc as you like!
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