Eggplant simmered in savory peanut gravy

I took tiny eggplants, then cross-slit them from the bottom not going all the way through, and deep fried them for 10 minutes. You can keep the stem on if you like, mine needed cleaning. If you want to avoid the deep frying - shallow fry them and cook them for 15-20 minutes with the lid on, stirring to evenly cook them.

In the blender I threw in -
2 handfuls of roasted unsalted peanuts
half a large white onion
1 tomato
1 garlic pod
2 green chillies
2-3 tbsp yogurt
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp red chilly powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala (Indian store)
1/2 cup tamarind water (or use 2 tsp of tamarind paste from the Indian store - I buy wet tamarind and boil it in water for a good 10mins. After it cools, I mush the tamarind in the water to release more pulp, then throw out the seeds and freeze the water for whenever I need it. You can even make ice cubes out of this water and throw into your daals (lentil soups).

After I blended all this, I heated 1 tbsp oil, added mustard seeds, waited till they splattered, then added few fresh curry leaves and the pureed blend. I cooked the blend till it lost some of its moisture content and was not sticking to the pan, then added the eggplant, some salt, more water to float above the mixture and lid it to cook for the next 15mins on slow flame. When the water content reduced, I added half the amount of water once again and let it cook for another 10 minutes. I wanted to ensure the eggplants soaked in the flavors of the gravy and were completed cooked. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

You can have it with roti and daal, or even just by itself with rice.