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.
Ingredients: Baby Eggplants - 8~10
Tomato - 2 medium, chopped Roasted Peanuts - ¼cup
Red Chili powder - 1tsp (adjust as per taste)
Turmeric - ¼tsp
Salt - to taste
Cilantro - 2tbsp, for garnish
For Tempering:
Chana dal - 1tsp
Urad dal - 1tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Dry red chili - 1
Curry Leaves - 8~10
Method:
- 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.
- Grind roasted peanuts along with chili powder, turmeric and salt.
- Stuff the eggplant with the peanut powder. Reserve the remaining peanut powder.
- 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.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they are mushy. Garnish with cilantro and serve with steamed rice.
Sending this over to Valli's 'Cooking with Cookbook Challenge'.