Green Banana and Eggplant Curry

Today we got green bananas in our organic veggie box - in fact, the whole thing was more fruit than veggies as this is summer and summer's all about fruit. So here's an alluringly tropical fresh and fruity curry. I believe this recipe is Sri Lankan but I can't remember which recipe book I adapted this one from - I 'veganized' it as the original had both yoghurt and cream - too heavy for summer anyway, no? I used fresh coconut in my recipe tonight but to be honest, the subtle flavour of it find of got lost in this dish so unless you have plenty of fresh coconuts to hand, I suggest when you get fresh ones you enjoy as-is or marinated as a side dish as I did the other night. 2 T peanut oil 2 t mustard seeds 1 t coriander 1 t cumin seeds 4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed 3 T desicated coconut 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed 1 t chilli flakes 1 t salt (I completely forgot to add this and it was delicious so cut down/ cut out salt if you can) 2-3 large green bananas or plantains, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces 2 medium eggplants, cut into 2cm cubes 30 fresh curry leaves 200ml vegetable stock (I used some homemade vegetable broth I had in the freezer - very handy) 2 t tamarind paste (I was actually out of this so substituted pomegranate paste which worked well too) juice of 1 lime 1/4 c flaked almonds 1/4 c spring onions finely sliced or a herb like mint or coriander Heat oil in wok or deep saucepan, add seeds and cardamom and fry over moderate heat till fragrant. Add coconut, garlic, chilli and salt and gently fry till coconut is golden. spices banana and coconut before adding the eggplant Add bananas and fry 20 seconds, then add eggplant and curry leaves and fry another 20 seconds, stirring well. Add stock and tamarind paste and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer until bananas are just cooked, about 15 minutes. If the curry dries out, add some boiling water. Stir in lime juice and check seasoning. Serve with basmati rice cooked with a little lemon zest. I also cooked mine with a sprinkling of wild rice (black seeds that turn the rice pleasantly purple). And do you like the plane and heart decorations I made from the banana skin? No? Well, I'm not baking much at the moment and just really wanted to use my cookie cutters!