Thai green eggplant curry

It's a ferociously hot day in Canberra so, perhaps counter-intuitively, I've made a curry. The quantity here is enough for the two of us for dinner tonight, plus two more weeknight meals (for the freezer).

1 tablespoon green curry paste
1 tin (560 ml) coconut cream
20 Thai eggplant, quartered
hot red chillies, chopped (quantity to taste)
5 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces
20 leaves Thai basil
3 to 5 tablespoons fish sauce

Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of coconut cream until boiling. Mix in the curry paste and stir for a minute. Slowly add the rest of the coconut cream, stirring continuously for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add a cup of water, then the lime leaves and fish sauce. When it returns to the boil, add the eggplant. Turn down heat when eggplant is cooked. Taste, adding more fish sauce if necessary. Remove from heat and mix in the Thai basil and chilli. Serve over rice.

All of the ingredients above can be obtained from Southeast Asian grocery stores. Happily, I used kaffir lime leaves from my own garden ;-)

Thai eggplant are about the size and shape

of golf balls, and range from white to green

The finished product. Yum!