Vegan Roasted Eggplant and Mushroom Curry – an Indian curry recipe that is gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and nutritious! Make it as a meal prep recipe or for stunning your guests!
Eggplant season, everybody get pumped!
Those deeply purple-d bulbous bodies of meaty spongy versatility, glorious day, what a vegetable.
I know, I know.
Some of us are Eggplant People and some of us Are Not.
To those of you who Are Not, I implore you to try your eggplant bathed in coconut milk and spices. Just once.
Just to say you’ve been there, done that, et that eggplant. It really is just the darndest thing, the curry o’ eggplant.
Eggplants are one of those faux meat veggies that serve well as a filling meatless meal.
They’re hearty, they absorb flavor like a chameleon changes color, they can be made into just about anything.
One of my first experiences with eggplant was an eggplant curry I tried from a local Indian restaurant.
It was so flavorful, so mooshy, so spicy, my tongue was on overload in joy.
I showed you an eggplant curry 17,000 years ago, and this is basically a deconstructed version of that with mushrooms added in.
Eggplant season runs from July through October, which means we have many-a-month to enjoy eggplant curry, eggplant sandos, eggplant burgers, you name it. Time is on our side, yes it is.
Eggplants absorb oil like whoa, so I coat them with a generous portion when I roast them lest they stick to the baking sheets.
While the eggplant and mushrooms were roasting in the oven, I made a yellow coconut curry sauce on the stove top.
After simmering the sauce for a hot minute, I added the roasted veggies and served it all up on rice. BOOM meatless Monday.
Be sure to save a smidge of the curry for your work lunch, because a.) nothing rustles your coworkers’s tail feathers like the scent of curry wafting from the breakroom, and b.) curry is always better the next day.
It’s a real rumpus, that curry.
Get that Monday!
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Roasted Eggplant and Mushroom Curry
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant diced into 2- cubes
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms halved
- 1 14- ounce can full-fat coconut milk divided
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 dried red chili seeds removed and crushed
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground corriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- 1 14- ounce can diced tomatoes drained
For Serving:
- Cooked Brown or White Rice
- Fresh cilantro
- Greek yogurt optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spread the eggplant and mushrooms on two baking sheets. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sea salt. Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the veggies, and roast an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
- While the vegetables are roasting, make the curry sauce. To do so, add about 1/3 cup of the coconut milk to a saucepan, along with the onion, ginger, and garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, and the coconut milk has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Add the spices and saute an additional 3 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk and diced tomatoes. Bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat. Allow the sauce to continue cooking at a controlled boil, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 15 minutes.
- Add the roasted vegetables to the saucepan, stir well to coat, then serve curry with cooked brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.
Nutrition
Gluten Free Skillet Eggplant Parmesan
Indian Eggplant Curry (Bhaingan Bharta)
Roasted Eggplant Pesto Sandwich
Ummmmmmmmm I LOOOOOOOOVE EGGPLANT and cannot wait to try this! Looks amazing. Thanks for sharing!
LOL @ “a real rumpus”. Eggplant curry is my kind of rumpus for sure. Great recipe!!
Josh was definitely not on board with eggplant until he tried it at a local Chinese restaurant where it was all mushy and bathed in extra sauce, which switched him right over to being BFFs with it. This recipe sounds like a hit! Who doesn’t love everything more when coconut milk is involved?
OK, Since I think I don’t like eggplant (like Josh above) but since you’ve converted me to like coconut milk and curry, I’ma gonna try it oncea, just oncea. Anda if youa wronga, i’mma gonna hatea you forever, and that’sa really longa longa time!
I’lla bea back witha report soona.
I would venture to say that people who “Are Not” about eggplant have just not had it prepared the right way. Like this curry, for example… how could you resist? 😉 My boyfriend was in the “are not” camp until I made diced eggplant slathered in pesto, then fried them to a crisp. He changed his mind after that! 🙂
OOF! Diced eggplant with pesto sounds amazing! I’ll have to give it a try!!
Oh yeaaahhhh. I love eggplant! I just roasted some yesterday, in fact. It’s so good and imagining it soaked in all of that curry deliciousness sounds amaaaaazing. I’m definitely going to bookmark this one to try! I only wish it wouldn’t have taken you 17,000 years to bring it back for us. 😉
Meaty spongey versatility…AMEN SEESTER. I am one of those peeps that actually thoroughly enjoys this odd vegetable. More for meeee!!
I’m in the middle of making the curry dish and you don’t mention how much curry to use! A’m I going senseless ? Do the spices combine to make the curry or did you leave it out?
HELP! I’m dying here and need information!
Sorry for the confusion! Yes, the spices together form the curry. Store-bought curry powder is a blend of cumin, corriander, turmeric, cayenne, paprika, and sometimes cardamom. I hope the curry ended up working out for you!
I have been getting OODLES of eggplant in my CSA and loving every second of it! This curry is destined to happen in my kitchen soon. I’m always craving those spices.
I am an eggplant person and I’m a curry person, too! Oh how I love a good vegetarian curry recipe. Oh and you know what else I like? Eggplant Bharta. I had it for the first time a few weeks ago and I’m been dreaming about it ever since. Hooray for eggplant!
BTW, Your eggplant curry looks incredible, Julia!
Yessssss i LOVE eggplant!! I’ve been meaning to make a curry dish sometime soon and this looks FAB.
Oooh, I am a BIG eggplant fan! I love all the varieties they are starting to have at the Farmer’s Markets! This curry looks amazing!
This looks so warming and flavorful! Pinning 🙂
Julia,
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve added it to the Farm Fresh Feasts Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me who love to eat from the farm share.
I appreciate your help in making this index better!
This IS superb! I’m eating it right now, at work, the day after 🙂 All your recipes are superb Julia, please publish another book with everything in!
YUM! This curry was awesome! And so easy to throw together too! I’m currently traveling and making this dish in my hostel kitchen in Valparaiso, Chile was a cinch! I ended up cooking the mushrooms & eggplant in the pot with a bit more liquid because it was easier than roasting (the oven here is less than co-operative). I loved the addition of coconut milk! Definitely a keeper recipe!
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you made it while traveling! It’s so cool to know the recipe was prepared in Valparaiso – what an honor! Also, I’ve been to Valpo and absolutely love that place! Have a blast in Chile – it truly is a magnificent country. And thanks so much for your feedback!
Great dish! I just served this up over a bed of quinoa for dinner-wow! It was a big hit in our house. I have one thing to point out: in the ingredients it does not list garlic, but the instructions mention adding garlic at one point. I used one clove to be on the safe side and it was fine. Thanks for the great recipe!
Woop woop! So happy you and your family enjoyed it, Jenna! Thanks for pointing out the garlic – I went ahead and added it to the recipe 😀 Thanks so much for your kind feedback!
This was great! I’ve made it for dinner and my family loved it, even my carnivore father. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! Kisses from Portugal 🙂
Could you use ginger/garlic paste if you don’t have ginger or garlic on hand?
Hi there! Yes, absolutely. I’d start with 2 tsp of each and adjust upward if necessary. Hope you enjoy! xo
Wow! This is one incredibly flavorful curry recipe; I’m totally blown away! Even my husband (who claims he doesn’t like curry) loved it. I added fresh zucchini and fresh jalapeño peppers (in place of dry) and the dish was perfect. I’ll be back to try more of your recipes!
Great recipe! But please note that eggplant skin should be removed prior to roasting. The skin on mine came out very tough and leathery. I removed the skin before adding to curry. Remove skin prior to roasting. Thanks for sharing. Loved it!
That’s great advice…thank you, Rita! xo
@Rita, if you use Chinese eggplant I think you’ll find it comes out delightfully tender ☺️
So flavorful! I made it as it but added a mix of frozen veggies to bulk it up. The flavors were excellent!! Served it over coconut basmati rice. Thank you
I love that idea! Thanks for the sweet note, Nicolette! xo
May havre missed something but how many people does this recioe feed?
Hi Judith, the recipe serves 4. Hope you enjoy!
I just have a question. While all of this looks incredibly delicious, we are all in a lockdown and so, I can’t go out to buy the coconut milk. Is it okay if I use cow milk? I have a cow and she gives me enough milk, so I rarely buy it.
Yes as per Judith question – are these quantities for 2 people, for 4 people….??
Hi there! The recipe serves 4 provided you serve the curry with rice or another side dish 😀 xo
The eggplant size confuses me: “1 inch large eggplant diced into 2- cubes”; is it supposed to be “1 large eggplant” and then diced into 2 inch (i.e 5cm) cubes?
Hi Sonia,
Sorry about that! I changed recipe plugins a while back and not all of my recipes transferred over correctly. You nailed it! Thanks for bringing this to my attention….I made the change in the recipe 🙂
I had some eggplant from my garden and some mushrooms in my fridge that needed eating up. I was so happy to find your recipe. It was easy and had wonderful flavor. My husband said we have to have this recipe a LOT. Thank you! I can’t wait to try your other recipes!
I’m so thrilled you and your husband like the curry, Jan! Thanks so much for letting me know! 😀 xoxoxo
This was insanely good. I doubled the eggplant and mushrooms and used rounded measurements for the spices. Turned out amazing and was still saucy enough even with the one can of coconut milk, but you could probably add a splash of broth if you wanted it saucier. Seriously one of the best curry dishes I’ve ever made and will be a regular in our meal rotation now. Thank you!
Thanks so much for the rave review, Kristina!! I’m so happy you like the curry! xoxoxo 😀
Really delicious taste. I air fried the aubergine and the mushrooms but remove the mushrooms part way through as they were worth cooking first. I did not use as much cumin has suggested and only used one teaspoon because I find human can be really overpowering. I used to much smaller cubes for the aubergine which allowed better cooking and better texture.
Mark. uk.
Thanks so much for sharing, Mark! This is very helpful to other people who want to try the recipe! xo
The extra step of roasting the veggies first is totally worth the effort. The result is a delicious curry with a crave-worthy texture. I would serve this for guests!
I omitted coconut milk but added lentils, curry powder and sweet potatoes. I simmered the sauce with the mushrooms instead of roasting it while the eggplant roasted. My goodness it’s tasty. Thank you for this recipe 🙂
Ooh, that sounds yummy! Thanks for sharing! xo