Stuffed Baby Eggplants Curry with Peanuts

Recipe by Cook's Hideout

My love for eggplants is well known in my family and even among my blogging buddies (I'm sure at least 2 of them must be nodding their heads and thinking -- eggplant recipe, AGAIN.. come on Pavani :-) But I can't miss an opportunity to buy them and eat them. Last weekend I found cute little baby eggplants at the Indian grocery, they were the perfect size to make stuffed eggplants. I bought a few, of course. As I was leafing through Chandra Padmanabhan's 'Dakshin', I found this easy stuffed eggplant recipe called 'Sagalay'. This peanut stuffing was a variation...

Ingredients

• 8 ~ 10 Eggplants (Baby)
• 2 tomato (- medium, chopped)
• Ritz Cracker (Roasted)
• 1 tsp chili powder (Red (adjust as per taste))
• Ritz Cracker
• to taste Salt
• 2 tbsps cilantro (- for garnish)
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 1 tsp Urad dal
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 red chili (Dry)
• 8 ~ 10 Curry leaves

Method

1. Make a “X” cut on the bottom of the eggplant, about 3/4th of the way up, making sure that the eggplant still holds together and does not become pieces. Keep aside.
2. Grind roasted peanuts along with chili powder, turmeric and salt.
3. Stuff the eggplant with the peanut powder. Reserve the remaining peanut powder.
4. Heat 2tbsp oil in a saute pan; add the tempering ingredients and once the seeds start to splutter, add the stuffed eggplants to the pan in a single layer and sprinkle some salt. Mix once, lower the heat, cover and cook until eggplants are cooked through, about 10~12 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure eggplants cook evenly on all sides.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they are mushy. Garnish with cilantro and serve with steamed rice.

View the recipe instructions at Cook's Hideout