Spicy Stuffed Baby Eggplants (Aubergines)

Heya all. Yet another busy day passes by but I couldn't stop myself from posting this delicious recipe.

Eggplants (or aubergines) are known to be low in calories and fat; and they are really a good source of fibre. The deep blue purple skin of eggplants have been found to be really healthy for the heart due to its potential anti-oxidant properties. Hence good news for weight watchers.

Source: Google

Available all around the year, this vegetable can be cooked in a variety of ways.

My version of 'spicy stuffed baby eggplants' is pretty simple. So here we go with the recipe.

The Magical Ingredients:


Baby eggplants: ~7-8 
Roasted peanuts: 3-4 tablespoons
Ripe red tomatoes: 400 gms
Onions: 2 medium sized
Garlic: 2-3 cloves
Ginger: a small portion
Garam masala: 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds: 2 teaspoon
Cumin powder: 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder: 1 teaspoon
Black mustard seeds: 2 teaspoon 
Dried mango powder (Amchur): 3 teaspoons
Red chilli powder: 2 teaspoon
Curry leaves: a small portion
Cilantro (coriander leaves): a small bunch
Asafoetida
Oil to cook (I prefer sunflower oil)
Salt to taste


The Approach:


1. Wash the eggplants and set them dry with a kitchen napkin.
2. Grind the peanuts, curry leaves, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, little garam masala, 1 teaspoon amchur, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder and a pinch of salt. I ground it till texture of the mixture is just coarse enough.

The stuffing mix :)

3. Chop of the heads of the baby egg plants and slit them carefully into quarters (without cutting them completely.

Stuffed eggplants  :)

4. Use the mix from step 2 and stuff the eggplants; and keep aside. 
5. Dice the onions and tomatoes, chop the cilantro, garlic, ginger and keep aside. 
6. Heat up 2-3 teaspoons oil in a deep saucepan. Once hot, add a pinch of asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds in quick succession. Once the popping stops, reduce the flame to medium, add curry leaves, ginger, and garlic (you can even use ginger-garlic paste to save time). Keep sautéing the contents for about a min and then add the chopped onions. Sauté for another minute. Add a teaspoon of turmeric powder and a pinch of salt.
7. As soon as the onions start browning, add the chopped tomatoes and mix the entire contents. Put the lid on, reduce the flame to low-medium and allow the contents to cook for 3 mins.
8. Now add all the remaining spices (garam masala, amchur, cumin powder, coriander powder and the left over spice mix from step 2) into the pan contents. Cook for 2 mins. Drop the stuffed egg plants into the pan, mix it up a bit, pour about 1 & 1/2 cups of water, put the lid on and now allow the egg plants to cook for about 13-15 mins.
9. Put off the flame, add the freshly chopped cilantro leaves and your "Spicy Stuffed Baby Eggplants" is now ready.


This recipe goes really well with Chappatis as well as rice.


Let me know if you liked this recipe with your comments.





"....unfortunately I failed to take any final pictures as I and my wife were extremely hungry. :( "