Meet this delicious eggplant & potato curry from East Africa: Ringra Bateta. I love saying it. Rin gra Ba te ta. It’s very layered in flavors. Every bite packs a punch that will make your tastebuds explode.

This recipe is from Zaynab Issa’s zine-style cookbook Let’s Eat. A wonderful collection of East African recipes meant to be shared. I love her book because inadvertently she has connected me to my heritage from the Dominican Republic.

Learning about East African recipes helped me better understand our mutual history, for example, there’s a recipe for “mogo fries” which are seasoned yuca fries, something we eat so much in DR. my heart exploded when I saw it. ♥️

Here’s the recipe for Ringra Bateta and green chutney, lightly adjusted:

1 large globe eggplant
1 large russet potato
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, mashed
2 tsps ground cumin
2 tsps ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 tsps kosher salt, divided
1 cup of water (swirl it in the tomato can)

Preheat your oven at 425F/218C. toss and coat your eggplant and potatoes with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil. roast until tender, 30 min.

Heat 2 tbsps olive oil at high heat, add the garlic, ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chili powder and saute until fragrant. stir in the crushed tomato, water and salt. simmer until thick. Add your veggies and coat evenly. serve with green chutney. blow your mind.

Green chutney sauce
1 bunch of cilantro
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeño (or 3 birds eye chilies)
1 tsp salt

Blitz everything together. that’s it. I also love to serve green chutney with salads because it’s so bright and flavorful. ♥️