Meera Sodha’s recipe for katsu curry with panko aubergines and pickled radishes

Katsu curry is an unlikely looking heart thief, but this mysterious brown concoction is one of Japan’s favourite dishes. In my take on it, the curry sauce is made using plenty of naturally sweet vegetables, such as carrots and onions, plus a couple of storecupboard essentials. These modest ingredients come together to form a seductive sauce that is much greater than the sum of its parts, especially when slathered over crispy panko aubergines. It’s a message to us all never to judge a dish by its colour.

Katsu curry with panko aubergines and pickled radishes

Panko breadcrumbs are a cut above normal ones in that they’re much crunchier and flakier. The three elements here could be made independently, but they do cohabit a plate rather nicely. You’ll need a blender for this.

Prep 35 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4

For the pickled radishes
100g radishes, sliced very thinly
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp rice-wine vinegar
3 tbsp white-wine vinegar

For the curry sauce
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots (about 200g), peeled and cut into 1cm dice
1 sweet potato (about 175g), peeled and cut into 1cm dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1.5cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp plain flour
500ml vegan vegetable stock (I use Marigold bouillon)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
½ tsp salt (or to taste)

For the panko aubergines
2 aubergines (about 600g), cut lengthways into 0.5cm-thick slices
8 tbsp plain flour
½ tsp salt
200g panko breadcrumbs
Rapeseed oil, to finish
Rice, salad leaves and black sesame seeds, to serve

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Put the radishes in a heatproof bowl, cover with 100ml of just-boiled water, add the salt and both vinegars, then stir and leave to cool.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a frying pan for which you have a lid, then fry the onion, carrots and sweet potato for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, fry for two minutes more, cover and leave to steam through for five minutes.

Add the curry powder, stir for a couple of minutes, then stir in the flour until the vegetables are coated. Add the stock a little at a time, then bring to a boil. Add the soy, ketchup and salt, then take off the heat. Blend smooth, then return the sauce to the pan.

Line an oven tray with baking paper. Put the aubergines on a plate. On a second plate, slowly mix the flour with about 180ml water and the salt to make a thin paste. Put the panko on a third plate. Coat both sides of each aubergine slice in the flour paste, shaking off any excess, then press into the panko to coat. Lay the coated slices on the prepared tray and drizzle both sides with oil. Bake for 15 minutes on each side, turn up the heat to 240C/465F/gas 9 and cook for 10 minutes more, until crisp, then take out of the oven.

Just before serving, gently reheat the curry sauce for five minutes, adding more water and salt if need be for taste and consistency. Put three or four aubergine slices on each plate, douse them in the sauce, then serve with some drained pickled radish, rice, salad leaves and a sprinkling of black sesame seeds.

• Food styling: Rukmini Iyer