Name: Eggplant Tikkas in Creamy Yogurt, Mustard, Chile, and Ginger
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 400 g (14 oz) eggplants, quartered and cut into large chunks; 200 g (7 oz) red onions, quartered; Melted butter, for basting; Generous pinch of chaat masala; Pinch garam masala; 4 garlic cloves; 2 inches ginger root; 2 green bird’s-eye chiles; 8 Tbsp. Greek yogurt; 1 tsp. Kashmiri chile powder; 1½ tsp. ground coriander; 1 tsp. ground turmeric; 1 Tbsp. mustard oil; 1 Tbsp. dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi), crushed; Pinch of sugar; Salt, to taste

Photo by Issy Croker

For these eggplant tikkas, eggplant and onion pieces are marinated in a spiced, creamy yogurt before being broiled or grilled. Eggplant retains its shape when broiled, but I do find that during cooking much of the marinade tends to dry out and so basting the kebabs with butter is essential to retain moisture. The best way to amplify flavor in this kebab is to divide the marinade and the reserved half to coat the chunks of eggplant and onion once cooked; this way the aroma and taste from the creamy yogurt marinade remain intact.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘Tandoori Home Cooking’ by Maunika Gowardhan, one of our top cookbooks of 2023. Buy the full book on Amazon. Get more vegetarian skewer recipes here →