Veg
Bharva Baingan (Stuffed Eggplant)
A family recipe since September 2010
A warm, tangy and slightly sweet stuffed eggplant dish from Indian home cooking—spiced potato and onion filling tucked into brinjals and pressure cooked until tender. Serve it with warm phulkas for a comforting weeknight meal.
35 min total3 servings
Ingredients
- Eggplant (brinjal) - 3 whole
- Onion - 1 whole
- Potato - 1 whole
- Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
- Chili powder - 1 tsp
- Bengal gram flour (besan) - 1 tsp
- Roasted chana dal - 1/2 tsp
- Tamarind pulp - 1 tsp
- Asafoetida (hing) - 1 pinch
- Jaggery (gur) - 1 tsp
- Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
- Oil
- Salt
Instructions
- 1Remove the stems from the eggplants and make criss-cross slits through each one without cutting the segments apart so they stay whole.
- 2Finely chop the onion and grate the potato so they are ready to go before you start cooking.
- 3Heat oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and asafoetida, and when the seeds crackle add the chopped onion and sauté until the onion is brown and fragrant.
- 4Add the grated potato, turmeric powder, chili powder and Bengal gram flour; mix well and sauté for 2-3 minutes so the raw smell goes away.
- 5Stir in the tamarind pulp, jaggery, coriander leaves, roasted chana dal, salt and 1/4 cup of water, then simmer until the filling mixture dries and comes together.
- 6Stuff the prepared masala into the slits of each eggplant, leaving about half the mixture unused for cooking with the eggplants.
- 7Place the stuffed eggplants and the remaining masala together in the pressure cooker, add salt and 1/4 cup of water, and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
- 8Carefully release the pressure, transfer the eggplants to a serving dish, and garnish with curry leaves or extra coriander leaves if you like.
- 9Serve hot with Phulkas. Optional: add a dollop of yogurt or a squeeze of lemon on the side for brightness.