Aubergine curry: a veggie Thai red curry you'll love

This aubergine curry is delicious and healthy, and the ingredients are not difficult to find. Thai cuisine is also very vegetarian-friendly, with a great range of dishes that don't require any meat at all. 

Here, we look at making an aubergine Thai red curry. Aubergine is one of the only vegetables that benefit from being cooked for a long time; its sponge-like texture absorbs all the moisture you can give it, so you don't have to worry about the vegetable losing its flavour. 

You can cook it in a slow cooker for a no-effort approach, or cook it in a sturdy lidded pan on the hob.

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How to make aubergine curry, Thai style

For this easy recipe for two, you'll need: 

• Aubergine, 300 grams. We prefer using mini aubergines, but can also chop up one large aubergine
• Thai red curry paste, preferable Barts, two to four teaspoons, to taste
• White cup mushrooms, 250 grams
• Lemongrass, one stalk
• Ginger, 20 grams or a thumb-sized piece, sliced
• Tinned tomato, one tin
• Coconut milk, 500ml
• Juice of one lime

1. For best results, it's best to start on the sear function on your slow cooker (if you have it; don't worry it not, you can do this in a frying pan). Stir fry the aubergines and the cleaned and chopped mushrooms in the red curry paste; if you wish, you can add a little bit or rapeseed oil. 

2. When the vegetables have softened, add all the other ingredients to your slow cooker or to your lidded pot, put the lid on and slow cook on a low heat for about 1.5 hours, or until the sauce is not too runny. 

3. For an even fresher taste, you can add fine green beans or sugarsnap peas towards the end. 

4. Serve with jasmine rice. 

Some recipes advise mixing your own Thai paste, but we've found it almost impossible to achieve an authentic flavour. Some people also like adding a bit of fish sauce to the mix, but we find the flavour (and smell) to be quite strong, so go easy if you do decide to add it. Obviously, the fish sauce will also make the dish non-veggie.