Ingredients

• 10 (small) – eggplants
• 2 tbsp – Bengal Gram dal
• 2 tbsp – Coriander seeds
• 1 pinch – Asafoetida
• 12 – Red Chillies
• 1 inch – Cinnamon
• 2 – Onion
• 1 – Tomato
• 1.5 tsp – salt
• 4 tbsp – oil
• 1/4 tsp – Cumin seeds

How to Make Stuffed eggplant

• For the masala:
• Peel onions and cut them into four pieces.
• Chop tomatoes finely and keep aside.
• Heat a drop of oil in a pan and add asafoetida, followed by the Bengal gram dal, coriander seeds, cinnamon and red chillies. Roast till it is golden in colour.
• Cool the roasted ingredients and dry grind them into a fine powder.
• Now add the cut onions and salt to the powder. Again run the mixer.
• There is no need to add water while grinding, since the juice of onion is enough to make a paste.
• To prepare the eggplant:
• Wash and carefully slit eggplants from the top. Make eight segments (4 cuts), but leave the segments on the stalk. Don’t cut so far that the segments break away.
• Stuff the vegetable in the middle and in between the segments with the ground paste.
• After stuffing all the eggplants, heat oil in a pan.
• Add cumin seeds and the chopped tomatoes.
• Add a pinch of salt and saute for one minute.
• Arrange the stuffed eggplants in the pan and turn each of them gently to coat with oil.
• Cover with lid and cook on low fire until it is done.
• When the vegetable becomes tender remove lid and keep sauteing till it absorbs all the spices.
• Serve with rice, chapatti or bread.