Are you Team Baingan (eggplant/aubergine) or are you not? I am one huge eggplant fan. The exact gooey, metallic texture and taste which some people tend to dislike, is what makes it extremely palatable to me. No kidding. The same isn’t true for the rest of my family though. The only way they will eat it is in bharta (roasted eggplant mash)or prepared Greek style with tons of Parmesan. And I do not blame them. Eggplant is an acquired taste and more often than not , tastes best when cooked with a citrus or tangy ingredient like tomatoes . One of my childhood favourites is Methi-Baingan or eggplant cooked in mustard oil tempered with lots of garlic and panchforan (a five spice mix) and flavoured with tomatoes and fresh fenugreek leaves. It is the best and will forever remain close to my heart but this Bharwa Baingan might juts give it a close competition. It is THAT good.
I tried it first courtesy a friend who cooked it using her friend’s recipe. When I posted the behind the scenes images on my Instagram stories, another chef friend from my Taj days gave some fantastic suggestions which I incorporated when I made it again. It turned out amazing.
Baby eggplants are what we use for this dish. Not only do they cook quicker, but are also easy to work with. Make four slits but not all the way through and let them soak in cold salt water for 15 minutes. Then drain and wipe off the excess moisture with a kitchen towel.
In a deep bowl, mix together coarsely ground roasted peanuts, toasted sesame,minced garlic, red chilli Powder, turmeric powder, desiccated coconut, coriander powder and salt. Use your fingers to mix together the ingredients so the flavours get well incorporated. This is going to be our filling for the eggplants
Prepare a wide dry plate.Spoon 1-2 tsp of the mixture into the slit eggplants making sure to fill them all the way to the top and place it on the prepared plate while you get ready for the tempering.
To a thick bottomed wide pan or skillet, add oil and once hot, add the mustard and cumin seeds and curry leaves. Once the seeds start to crackle, add the stuffed eggplant and reduce the flame to low. Cover and cook until 70% done.
Then add the remaining peanut-sesame masala mixture. Stir and mix on a low flame for a minute and add chopped tomatoes.Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until tomatoes are mushy and eggplant cooked through.
Turn off the heat and add fresh tamarind juice(prepared by soaking tamarind pulp in warm water, letting it sit in the water for 15 minutes and then straining) and jaggery. Mix well and let it sit for 10-15 minutes so the flavours absorb and serve hot with ghee rice or chapatis.
Ingredients
- Baby eggplants, slit partially into fours-10-12(refer image above)
- Roasted whole peanut- 1 cup
- Roasted sesame- 4 tbsp
- Desiccated coconut -3 tbsp
- Turmeric powder-1 tsp
- Chili powder- 1.5 tsp or as per taste
- Coriander powder- 1.5tsp
- Minced Garlic- 3-4 medium sized pods
- Salt-1.5 tsp or as per taste
- Mustard Seeds-1/2 tsp
- Cumin Seeds-3/4 tsp
- Curry Leaves- 10-12
- Tomatoes- 1cup, finely chopped
- Tamarind water-2 tsp
- Jaggery-2.5 tsp
- Chopped coriander-2 tbsp or as desired
- Oil-3-4 tbsp
Instructions
- Slit the eggplants vertically but not all the way through and let it soak in cold salt water for 15 minutes. Then drain and wipe off the excess moisture with a kitchen towel.
- In a deep bowl, mix together coarsely ground roasted peanuts, toasted sesame, minced garlic, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, desiccated coconut, coriander powder and salt. Use your fingers to mix together the ingredients so the flavours get well incorporated. This is going to be our filling for the eggplants
- Prepare a wide dry plate.Spoon 1-2 tsp of the mixture into the slit eggplants making sure to fill them all the way to the top and place it on the prepared plate while you get ready for the tempering.
- To a thick bottomed wide pan or skillet, add oil and once hot, add the mustard and cumin seeds and curry leaves. Once the seeds start to crackle, add the stuffed eggplant and reduce the flame to low. Cover and cook until 70% done.
- Then add the remaining peanut-sesame masala mixture. Stir and mix on a low flame for a minute and add chopped tomatoes.Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until tomatoes are mushy and eggplant cooked through.
- Turn off the heat and add fresh tamarind juice(prepared by soaking tamarind pulp in warm water, letting it sit in the water for 15 minutes and then straining) and jaggery. Mix well and let it sit for 10-15 minutes so the flavours absorb and serve hot with ghee rice or chapatis.
The post Bharwa Baingan (Stuffed Aubergine/Eggplant) appeared first on OneWholesomeMeal.
