Chunky Baingan ki Bharta

The low Autumnal sun slid through the trees casting sculptural shadows across the lawn, branches held fickle leaves not sure whether to hold on to their native green or to switch their wardrobe to a warmer colour. Remnants of the jungle which was beginning to look like a garden, sizzled, crackled and smouldered in a heap, flames licked woody limbs filling the air with the unmistakable cologne of Autumn, comforting, welcome, delicious and good. The first bonfire of the year, complete with a panicky neighbour rushing over to make sure the house hadn’t been razed to the ground.

I’m not sure whether it’s a primal reaction to smoke and fire that invokes hunger and the urge to cook but the groaning from our bellies displaced our attention from the smoky heap and into the kitchen. Hunting for Autumnal flavours and the need to satiate a ranging appetite, we settled on a chunky speedy spiced aubergine sizzling curry, a side dish to our previously cooked lamb dumpling kebabs. The aubergine or rough baingan ki bharta as my mother would refer to it, takes on a deep smoky resonance, rich flavours and colours from indigo aubergines slapped against the crimson paprika tomatoes warmed by mustard seeds and ground cumin. This aubergine curry is India’s answer to Autumn (but great at any time of the year)...after all who needs an Indian Summer.