Brinjal Curry Recipe (Eggplant Curry)

Brinjal Curry aka Eggplant Curry, is an everyday Indian curried dish made with eggplants, onions, tomatoes, herbs and spices. This comforting curry is quick to make & is packed with delicious South Indian flavors. It’s nut-free, gluten-free and plant-based. This Eggplant Curry is best served with plain steamed rice, millets, and quinoa or with flatbreads.

Eggplants are close to the hearts of many Indians and there are some extremely popular Indian dishes made with them. Gutti Vankaya, Bharwa Baingan & Hyderabadi Bagara Baingan, are some of the curries made with brinjal.

However those recipes are more involved and require multiple steps where nuts, seeds, herbs and spices are roasted & ground. The recipe shared in this post is very simple and I’ve also shared a few variations below.

Which Eggplant/ Brinjal for a curry?

Eggplants come in different varieties, sizes and colors. The kind of brinjal used in the curry determines the taste and flavor of your curry. This is one dish where spices won’t help much. So choose the right kind.

The smaller variety of eggplants that come in purple, green or a mix of purple & white are best for a curry. They have a very thin skin which is sweeter, flavorful and the flesh tastes buttery. You won’t need a lot of spices or coconut milk to cook with those and this is the kind mostly used in Indian cuisine for a curry.

The other variety is the slender, sleek and long eggplants that are the next good option to use in a curry. These are usually sold as Chinese, Japanese or Indian long brinjal. Though each of these are slightly different & have a slightly thick skin than the small varieties, they all work well in a curry.

The larger varieties with a thick skin like the globe/ American eggplants, have a spongy texture, less flavor and won’t cook well in the curry easily. These are best suited to grill/ broil/ bake/ fry or fire roast. In India, these are used to make baingan bharta, chutney or fried brinjal and are rarely used in a curry.

However if this is the only kind that’s available, you will either grill/ broil/ fire roast or pan fry the eggplants before adding to the curry. If you omit this step your curry won’t be good and the eggplants will take forever to cook.

Choose eggplants with fewer seeds

Usually small, immature and baby eggplants have no seeds at all. Eggplants with fewer seeds weigh lesser than those (of the same size) with more seeds. So you will ideally pick fresh looking, firm & glossy brinjals that have a smooth skin and weigh lesser for its size.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Aromatics – Like any other curry, this recipe requires onions, ginger, garlic and green chilies for the base. Red or yellow onions are best for this.
• Tomatoes – I like to use fresh tomatoes but you may use lesser amount of canned if you want. If you are using small eggplants, you may cut down the amount of tomatoes, for the flavor of brinjal to shine through.
• Spices – A good sambar powder or a curry powder and a small amount of garam masala are essentials of this recipe. If you are using the small Indian variety brinjal, you may omit the sambar powder and go with minimum amount of garam masala, at the finishing stage.
• Whole spices like Cumin and mustard elevate the flavors. But feel free to omit them if you don’t like.
• Herbs – I always have fresh curry leaves so I use them. You may use dried or omit and simply garnish with coriander leaves/ cilantro.
• Protein – My Mom would add green peas, chickpeas or black eyed peas in a brinjal curry. So I have included a small amount of peas here. Feel free to omit them, or sub with hard boiled eggs. Tips in variations section below.

Photo Guide

How to make Brinjal Curry (Stepwise photos)

This recipe serves 4. To make 2 servings you may halve the ingredients.

Preparation

1. Dice ½ kg (1 lb.) eggplants to 1 inch pieces and add to a large bowl. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt & enough pour water to cover them. Rest for 15 mins, while you prep up the rest. (If you prefer to oven roast them, add only half tsp salt, omit adding water, instead let them sit for 10 mins in a colander & later transfer to a prepared baking tray. Drizzle with oil and broil for 8 to 10 mins.)

2. Prep up the following ingredients:

• 1 large onion fine chopped to make 1½ cup onions (175 grams)
• Chop or slit 1 green chili (deseed if you want, optional)
• Fine chop 4 large garlic cloves to make ¾ tablespoon (or use 1½ teaspoon ginger garlic paste)
• Fine chop half inch ginger to make ½ tablespoon
• Fine chop or puree 2 medium tomatoes to make 1½ cup (230 grams or use lesser amount of canned)
• ½ cup green peas (60 grams, optional or use 1 cup canned/cooked chickpeas or black eyed peas)
• Rinse and pat dry 1 sprig curry leaves (omit if you don’t have)
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (Jeera)
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder (optional, I use Kashmiri/ byadgi)
• 1½ tbsp sambar powder or curry powder (adjust to preference)
• ¾ to 1 cup water / stock or coconut milk (or use 50/50)
• ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala (adjust to preference)
• To garnish, fine chop 2 sprigs of coriander leaves – optional

3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard begins to pop, add the curry leaves.

4. Stir in the onions and green chilies. Saute on a medium heat, for 5 to 6 mins until light golden. Add the ginger garlic and saute for 1 to 2 mins.

5. Add tomatoes and half teaspoon salt. Cook until the tomatoes break down.

6. Stir in the red chili powder and sambar powder or curry powder.

7. Saute for 1 to 2 mins, until fragrant.

8. Pour ¾ to 1 cup water or coconut milk and bring to a boil.

Make the Eggplant Curry

9. While the curry cook, drain the eggplants from water. Heat a pan with 1½ tablespoon of oil (or ghee for more flavor) and add the eggplants. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt. (We already added salt to tomatoes so go with lesser)

10. Pan fry on a medium high heat for 7 to 8 mins, until the skin is discolored or blistered.

11. Stir the pan fried or oven roasted eggplants in the simmering curry and add the green peas.

12. Adjust the consitency by adding more liquid if required. I did add a little more here.

13. Cover the pan and simmer until the brinjal is tender and fully cooked to your liking. If you overcook too long, it won’t taste good and will take on a different flavor.

14. Taste test and add more salt or garam masala to your preference. I used ¾ teaspoon home ground garam masala.

Garnish eggplant curry with coriander leaves. This is the consistency you get.

Egplant curry is best served hot with rice , roti, millets or quinoa. You may refrigerate the leftovers in a air tight container for 2 days and reheat in a pan (not cooker).

Expert Tips

• Every brand of spice blends like sambar/curry powder or garam masala produce different results. So look for a really fragrant blends and adjust the quantities as required. I use homemade versions.
• I use this homemade sambar powder or this mild curry powder. They are not too hot or spicy but extremely fragrant. They include a small amount of lentils which actually thickens and flavors the curry naturally.
• Oven baked veggies like pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potatoes or potatoes can included during the last few minutes of cooking.

Variations

• In Telugu cuisine, traditionally green peas (dried matar), chickpeas or black eyed peas are used while making brinjal curry or stir fry. That’s mostly a drier curry with no tomatoes & sambar powder included. You need to soak them overnight and boil until tender before using. You may do that but use only baby or long eggplants (no globe).
• To make this a dry curry, use baby eggplants or the Indian/ Thai variety and cut down the amount of onions and tomatoes to half. Omit the curry powder and use very little garam masala at the finishing stage.
• To include hard boiled eggs, make slits on the eggs and add during the last 3 to 4 mins of cooking. Or fry them in a tsp of ghee or butter, until blistered and sprinkle some chili powder and salt. Use them as garnish. It is important to either halve them or make slits, else they will burst or blow up in the pan.

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Originally published in November 2015. Updated in July 2025.