Spicy aubergine with tomatoes

I got the inspiration for this dish from the BBC Good food website. It's again a simple dish to prepare, as I'm pretty busy at work lately, I always go for dishes with minimal effort, but maximum flavour.

This dish is not 'chilli hot'. I used a pinch of crushed chilli flakes to give a bit of heat, but it wasn't too much to overpower the flavours of the other spices.

Spicy aubergine, with bread

I used plum tomatoes in this dish which I much prefer than normal cherry tomatoes. They are a lot sweeter and more flavourful. The aubergine was juicy in this dish, and I used the bread to mop up the sauces. I had some leftovers the next day for lunch; it tasted even better!

Simmering in the pot

Ingredients
(serves 2 as a side dish)

1 aubergine, sliced into about 1/2 cm slices and lengthwise
150 grammes of plum tomatoes, sliced into halves
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
a handful of parsley
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin (and an extra pinch)
1 teaspoon of turmeric ( and an extra pinch)
1 teaspoon of whole coriander
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of chili flakes
salt to taste

Method

• Brush the aubergine with oil, and season with salt, a pinch of cumin and a pinch of turmeric. Grill for about 20 minutes until tender. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a small saucepan to medium high, and add the mustard and coriander seeds. Let the seeds heat slowly in the pan to infuse the oil with its flavours.
• Add the garlic pieces and when it starts to brown, add the tomatoes. 
• Add the grilled aubergine and the remainder of the spices and the chilli flakes.
• Stir well and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the tomatoes soften. If it gets to dry, add about 2-3 tablespoons of water.
• Add the parsley, season and serve.