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Roast aubergine salad with chickpeas and tamarind

By: Anjali Pathak

Aubergine has the power to turn side salads into mains — you’ll love the meaty texture it adds to this hearty salad recipe from Anjali Pathak.

If you love the combination of aubergine and chickpeas, give Elly Pear’s aubergine, tomato and chickpea traybake a try.

Aubergine has the power to turn side salads into mains — you’ll love the meaty texture it adds to this hearty salad recipe from Anjali Pathak.

If you love the combination of aubergine and chickpeas, give Elly Pear’s aubergine, tomato and chickpea traybake a try.

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil
1½ tbsp tamarind paste (widely available)
1½ tbsp clear honey
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1½ tsp cumin seeds, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan, then roughly crushed with a pestle and mortar
2 large aubergines, thinly sliced lengthways
1 large red chilli
1 red onion, finely sliced
200g tinned chickpeas, drained
100g rocket leaves
Juice ½ lime
60g feta (optional)

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Heat a griddle pan over a fairly high heat or, if using the oven to cook the aubergines (see tip), heat to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
Make the marinade/dressing by mixing together the olive oil, tamarind, honey, garlic, cumin and some salt and cracked black pepper.
Rub half the marinade on the aubergine slices and whole chilli, then cook in the hot griddle pan for around 10 minutes, turning twice, until soft. If using the oven, spread out on a baking sheet and bake for around 15 minutes, turning once.

Once the aubergines are cooked, roughly chop the chilli. Toss the red onion, chickpeas and rocket with the lime juice and remaining dressing in a bowl. Mix in the aubergine and chopped chilli, then serve, sprinkled with crumbled feta if you fancy it.

A recipe from Secrets from My Indian Family Kitchen by Anjali Pathak (£12.99; Mitchell Beazley)

Nutrition: per serving

“This is perfect to have when you fancy something that’s good for you but you feel in need of a few carbohydrates to bulk it out. Aubergines are one of the best ingredients to pair with spices as they are like sponges and soak up any favours you put them with. You can either cook the aubergines in a griddle pan or roast them in an oven. Here I’ve made a marinade that handily doubles as a dressing.” Anjali Pathak