Stuffed Eggplant Curry

Frankly speaking I am not a very big fan of egg plant. I started eating eggplants only after marriage cos my MIL used to make "Enna Kathirikka Curry" in such a way that nobody can tell that its a eggplant, it will be really crispy, spicy and it will be just like potato curry. After coming here to US, I tried so many times to make eggplant curry just like her. The taste will usually be like hers, but the texture will not be like her eggplant curry. This stuffed is something I made two weeks back after seeing a recipe online. It came out pretty well (unexpectedly) and tasted really good. The recipe goes like this....

Ingredients:-

1. Eggplants - 10
2. Salt to taste
3. Oil - 3 tbsp
4. Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
5. Red chillies - 4 (acc to taste)
6. Channa dhall - 1/2 tbsp
7. White sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp(optional)
8. Peanuts - 10 nos
9. Coconut - 2 tsp
10. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

First cut the eggplant into half. Do not cut the edge. Place the eggplants in a baking sheet and spray cooking spray and sprinkle a little bit of salt on top of it. In the mean time, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the eggplants for 10 mts or until its 3/4 cooked. The skin will become tender when the eggplant is 3/4 cooked. Take it out and let it cool. In the mean time, roast the coriander seeds, channa dhall, red chillies, white sesame seeds, peanuts and coconuts to golden brown and grind it into a fine powder. Add the turmeric powder to this grounded mixture and mix it well. When the eggplants are done and are ready to stuff, start adding the grounded powder inside the eggplant. Try to stuff it with your hands and keep it aside. Take a pan, pre heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add the eggplants one by one and cook it in low flame. Cover it with a lid for the first 3 mts and let it cook in the oil. Flip it over and let it cook on the other side too. Leave it in the stove, keeping the flame very low and let it become crispy. If you think, the quantity of oil, is a lot, you can reduce the oil quantity and use PAM in the place of oil.

Eggplant Curry 2 - Brinjal Curry 2

In my mom's place, they don't make eggplant or brinjal curry with masala powder. They make it really really simple. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-

1. Eggplants(Brinjal) - 2 cups (chopped into 1" sized)
2. Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp
3. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
4. Salt to taste
5. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
6. Red chillies - 1 (acc to taste)

Take a wide pan, pre heat the oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters add red chillies to it and saute for a minute. Now add the chopped brinjal, turmeric powder, salt and required amount of water and let it cook for 10 mts. Eggplants(brinjal) will not take more than 10 mts (most of the eggplants) to cook. When the brinjal is fully cooked, drain the remaining water and saute for a minute. Do not mash the brinjal. Serve it hot with sambar rice. This is also a side dish.

Egg Plant Curry 1

This is my husband's favorite curry. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:-

1. Eggplant (Brinjal) - 15 (small sized eggplants available in Indian stores)
   
2. Onion - 1 (medium sized)
3. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
4. Salt to taste
   
5. Curry powder - 2 tsp
6. Oil - 2 tbsp
7. Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
8. Urad dhall - 1/2 tsp
9. Channa dhall - 1/2 tsp
10. Red chillies - 1

First chop the eggplants into small cubes. Chop the onion in the same size and soak both eggplant and onion in water with a drop of lemon juice. Take a wide pan, pre heat oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters add urad dhall, channa dhall and red chillies to it and fry it till golden brown. Now add the chopped eggplant and onion to it. Add required amount of water, add salt, turmeric powder and curry powder to it and let it cook under low flame. Stir it occasionally. Do not mash the eggplant. Turn off the stove when eggplant is fully cooked. Serve it hot with rice. This is also a side dish.