Baghara Baigan/Stuffed Baby Eggplant Curry
 
 
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Ingredients
  • 9 baby gggplants
  • 3 medium onions, chopped fine (half for for curry and half for the stuffing)
  • ½ cup raw peanuts
  • 1½ tbsps sesame seeds
  • 1½ tsps poppy seeds
  • 1 tbsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tbsps fresh grated coconut (used desiccated if you can't find fresh)
  • 2 inches ginger, grated
  • 4-5 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp red chili powder
  • 2 tsps kahmiri mirch/chili powder
  • 2 tsps tamarind extract (pulp from a lime sized tamarind ball, soaked for half hour)
  • 2-3 tbsps vegetable oil
  • handful of curry leaves
  • salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Wash the eggplants and pat them dry. Do not chop off the thick stem on top. It helps hold the eggplant together during the cooking process.
  2. In a pan, dry roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, coriander powder and cumin seeds and grated coconut. Use a medium flame and stir the ingredients frequently. Once they turn a light brown, take off heat, transfer to another dish and set aside to cool.
  3. Add a tablespoon of oil to the same pan and brown the chopped onions. Add a pinch of salt to draw out their moisture.
  4. Once all the dry roasted ingredients have cooled down, grind them together to a fine paste along with half the cooked onions, ginger, garlic, tamarind extract, turmeric powder and a little water to help make it a smooth paste. Remember we still need it to be a little coarse since this is what we are going to stuff into the eggplants.
  5. Using a paring knife, carefully make crosswise slits through the eggplant stopping an inch before you get to the stem end. Stuff about a teaspoon of the paste into the slits. No need to be neat!
  6. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep saucepan, sauté the curry leaves and carefully add the stuffed eggplants to the pan. Since they splutter a lot, cover the pan and let them cook for about 10 minutes, until they soften. Rotate them every few minutes so they cook evenly.
  7. Reduce the heat a bit, add the remaining ground paste to the pan, the other half of the cooked onions, red kasmiri chili powder, 2 cups of water and salt to taste.
  8. Cover the pan and cook on medium heat until the eggplants are cooked through and the oil starts to separate from the curry paste and collect around the edges.
  9. Serve warm with basmati rice or Indian bread.
Recipe by Box of Spice at https://boxofspice.com/2016/04/stuffed-baby-eggplant-curry/