Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant Recipe / Easy Baingan Recipe

Winters are back in action with fun and freezing feel around, but wait! This lovely and pleasant weather not only embosom our skin, but it offers beautiful bright colored vegetables channelizing our hunger meter. Veggies like eggplants or typically known as baingan have always been on a warm list of Indian veg food, I just love the fresh smell and taste of eggplant recipes either cooked by simply mashing, roasting or stuffing them. This pure amethyst color fruit is one of the must try vegetable that blends easily with other veggies like drumsticks, potatoes, raw banana’s and even with meat, maybe that’s why it is considered as a king of vegetables in India. This particular veggie behaves the same way like potatoes when they are cut open and kept for a longer time, by rapidly changing the white color of the inner flesh in brown color. Let me give you a quick tip, whenever you chop eggplants or potatoes, promptly soak them into salty water so that its freshness stays intact!

Stuff eggplant is a simpler version of a Gujarati dish Undhiyo that is prepared with the combination of all winter gifted vegetables with deliciously spongy fenugreek dumplings, this Indian vegetable casserole can easily win any vegetarian’s heart by its sweet, tangy, spicy taste and aromatic flavor. This time, I have simply cut down the traditional Undhiyo recipe by particularly working on the stuffing ingredients of eggplant to uplift its flavor. I love to stuff my veggies with different spices and tricks and I hope you too enjoy this little twist of cooking at home.

Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant Recipe / Easy Baingan Recipe

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Serves: 3-4 persons

Ingredients:

3-4 medium size dark purple colored Eggplants

½ Cup cooking oil

3-4 finely chopped tomatoes

1 large size onions, thinly sliced into half moons

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

2 tablespoons sesame seeds or til
½ teaspoon mustard seeds or rai

2 tablespoons peanuts

2-3 tablespoons of grated fresh coconut

A pinch of fenugreek seeds or methi dana

3 tablespoons of red chili flakes

1 tablespoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon of lemon juice or raw mango powder/ amchur powder

½ teaspoon grated jaggery

½ Cup chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon garlic paste

1 teaspoon ginger paste

Salt to taste

2 cups of water

Method:

• Wash brinjals and gently slit them so that the stem doesn’t cut off, add 1 tablespoon of salt in water and immerse these brinjals until we prepare its stuffing.
• In frying pan, add 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons peanuts, 1 tablespoon of red chili flakes, a pinch of fenugreek seeds and 2-3 tablespoons of grated coconut. Dry roast everything for a few minutes until fragrant and changes its color to a little dark shade.
• In the same pan, heat cooking oil and add thinly sliced onions and fry them for a crunchy and golden brown texture, transfer the fried onions onto the wide plate with absorbent paper and leave it aside to cool down.
• Now grind the fried onions and roasted spices together in a blender to form a smooth mush for our eggplant filling.
• In a bowl, add the blended paste, turmeric powder, lemon juice or amchur powder, chopped cilantro, jaggery and salt to taste, adjust the seasoning, sweet and sour taste of filling as per your preference.
• Now fill this stuffing into the slit eggplants and keep them aside on a plate.
• In a wok, heat cooking oil and add ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds, once they start to splutter immediately add chopped tomatoes and allow it to cook for a thicker consistency. Once the tomatoes are mashed up evenly add the remaining stuffing paste, garlic paste, ginger paste, 2 tablespoons of red chili flakes, 1 tablespoon of coriander powder and bhuno the mixture for a few minutes until the tomatoes releases oil from its sides. 
• Bhunoing is the simple and necessary technique in Indian cooking that helps the spices to cook collectively on a medium-high flame without letting the masala or spices burn, bhunoing means constantly stirring the mixture to kill the rawness of spices.
• Transfer eggplants into the pan and let it fry for 5-8 minutes, add 2 cup of water and leave it to cook for 15-20 minutes.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with steam rice or any flat bread of your choice.

Enjoy!