Niki’s Aubergine Katsu Curry *IMPROVED RECIPE*

Niki’s Aubergine Katsu Curry  *IMPROVED RECIPE*

So, what have I really learned as a recipe writer throughout the years? Well, too much to write here but one of the most important lessons is improving a recipe.  As time goes on, there are some recipes that can be improved upon just because of better ingredients becoming available (like Niki’s Korean Blend! 🙏🏻😜) but also other fellow food writers adding to a recipe which helps everyone in the field as a result. So here I am sharing my improved aubergine katsu, hope you enjoy it! 


Ingredients: 

For the curry sauce:
2–3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 white onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated

2 carrots, chopped  1 teaspoon of ground turmeric @steenbergsltd 

2 heaped tablespoons madras curry powder @steenbergsltd 

1 tablespoon of plain gf flour

300ml chicken or vegetable stock

100ml coconut milk or coconut cream 

1 teaspoon of tamari or more, to taste 

1 teaspoon of coconut sugar, to taste

For the aubergine medallions:
1 large free-range egg, beaten lightly

3-4 tbsp of coconut oil or ghee for shallow frying

2 medium sized aubergines, sliced into ½ inch thick medallions

3 tbsp of polenta, for dusting

2 tbsp of rice flour, for coating 

2 teaspoons of Steenbergs pyramid sea salt 

1 teaspoon of Aleppo chilli flakes 

1 teaspoon of Niki’s Korean Blend plus extra for garnishing 


Method:

1. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small pan. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and sauté gently for 2 minutes, then throw in the carrots and sweat slowly for a further 10 minutes with the lid on, giving the odd stir, until softened and starting to caramelise.

2. Stir in the madras curry powder and ground turmeric and cook for a minute. Slowly pour in the stock and gf flour until combined and whisk thoroughly whilst doing so. Next add in your tamari and coconut milk/cream and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, so the sauce thickens but is still of pouring consistency.

3. While you are waiting for the sauce to thicken, simply dip your aubergine medallions in the beaten egg and then lightly dust with the rice flour and polenta and season it as desired and fry on both sides on a medium heat…4 minutes on each side will do the trick but keep an eye on it as it can burn so very easily!

4. I love to serve my aubergine katsu curry with a serving of turmeric rice but you can also opt for a light green salad consisting of baby leaf spinach, diced peppers rocket…delicious!


Enjoy!

Niki xxx