Indonesian Beef & Eggplant Curry

rpgaymer's Note:

This is a hot & sour curry that's made from scratch, although it's not difficult to make. Once you have your curry paste ready, the rest of the cooking process is a breeze. The kaffir lime leaves are key here, although they are difficult to find as not even every Asian grocery store carries them. Unfortunately, there isn't a decent substitute, but these flavorful leaves are very much worth the search.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 shallots, chopped
• 2 habanero peppers, seeded and chopped
• 14.79 ml fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2.46 ml ground turmeric
• 4.92 ml ground coriander
• 2.46 ml ground cumin
• 5 macadamia nuts, chopped
• 14.79 ml peanut oil
• 340.19 g round steak, cut into thin strips
• 396.89 g can coconut milk (I use the light kind)
• 14.79 ml palm sugar or 14.79 ml brown sugar
• 5 Thai eggplants or 5 indian eggplants, quartered
• 3-4 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 lime, juice of
• 4.92 ml salt
• 709.77 ml cooked brown rice

Directions:

1. Using a mortar & pestle (or a food processor), grind the shallots, habanero peppers, ginger, garlic, turmeric, coriander, cumin and macadamia nuts into a paste.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or heavy pan over medium-high heat, then stir in the curry paste and fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the beef, stirring to coat well with the paste, then add the coconut milk and sugar. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
3. Add the eggplant wedges and kaffir lime leaves, and cook gently for a further 10 minutes.
4. Remove the lime leaves, then stir in the lime juice and salt. Serve over brown rice.