Slow Cooker Aubergine Makhani. Beautiful, butter-soft aubergines in a rich makhani sauce. This velvety-smooth curry is perfect with rice and fluffy naan.
Slow Cooker Aubergine Makhani: The ultimate vegetarian curry
I adore my slow cooker. I use it for Keema Pau Bhaji, Vegetable Kurma, Daal Makhani, this Aubergine Makhani and more.
The basis my sauce is an irresistible combo of butter, tomatoes, aromatic spices and a touch of cream. It’s not makhani without butter!
Indeed, the final splash of cream makes for a perfectly-balanced curry for the juicy aubergine chunks.
Why I slow cook my aubergines
Slow cooking is a great way of making sure your aubergines remain chunky and don’t fall apart. If you’re looking for an equally delicious aubergine recipe where they are first blackened, then mashed, head this way.
Creamy curry 101
One of my favourite dishes to eat in Indian restaurants is Paneer Makhani or Paneer Butter Masala. If one of them is on the menu, there’s a 99% chance I’ll order one.
In makhani curry, it’s the combination of ground coriander, cardamom, kasoori methi and tomatoes. It makes for an utterly satisfying meal. So delicious with rice and naan.
I always season my creamy curries with salt and sugar to balance the spices and sour tomatoes. This of course, depends on your taste so feel free to adjust accordingly.
Other ways of making Makhani curry
If you’re not a fan of aubergines, this easy vegetarian makhani sauce recipe is also amazing with chickpeas, tofu, paneer, potatoes, cauliflower and more.
It’s so easy to make in a slow cooker – there’s no separate cooking, it all goes in at once and is finished with a touch of cream, kasoori methi, flaked almonds and fresh coriander.
How to make Slow Cooker Aubergine Makhani
Ingredients
For the aubergine makhani:
- 3 large aubergines cut into 1 inch chunks
- 800 g passata sieved tomato pulp
- 2 tbsp concentrated tomato puree
- 4 large cloves garlic crushed
- 5 cm piece fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 2 tsp coriander seeds finely ground
- 2 tsp garam masala
- Seeds of 6 cardamom pods finely ground
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds finely ground
- 3 small red chillies finely chopped
- 50 g butter melted
- 1 ½ tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 100 ml double cream to finish
- To garnish:
- 1 tsp kasoori methi to finish
- Toasted flaked almonds to garnish
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- Red onions cut into rings
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in the slow cooker apart from the aubergines, cream and kasoori methi. Give it a good whisk.
- Fold in the aubergines and make sure they’re well coated. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on the high setting for 3 hours.
- Don’t stir the curry too much – you want your aubergine to remain chunky so try to leave it to do its thing.
- After around 3 hours, the aubergine should be beautifully soft. Remove the lid and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
- Finally, rub the kasoori methi between your palms and add to the curry. Finish with the cream, mixing thoroughly for a delicious creamy finish.
- Garnish with flaked almonds, red onions and chopped coriander.
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Love Sanjana
SRD
Sunday 22nd of December 2019
Can this be made in a pressure cooker?
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[…] I wanted something delicious but not to difficult or time consuming. Inspired by Sanjana at korasoi, I took her slow cooker recipe and made some changes to suit the evening […]