bagara baingan/tempered eggplant curry

eggplant's versatility lends itself to thousands of dishes. Almost all world uses eggplants in their cooking and you can apply any cooking technique to them - roasted, deep-fried, sautéed, grilled, baked, mashed, stuffed, pickled - anything at all will work. I happen to love them too, so I couldn't get too far avoiding it the way I used too...Curried eggplant with peanuts,cumin seeds,poppy seed,sesame seed,cinnamon....though the list seems long but everything is just roasted and blended to a paste.

This is chefy recipe which enhances a bit of cooking skill and patience!!!!

Ingredients:

6-8 nos - small & tender purple Eggplants/brinjals
1½ cups - Onions, sliced (used for the masala paste & final gravy)
1/4 cup - Peanuts
1 Tbsp - Sesame seeds
1 tsp - Poppy seeds
1 tsp - Coriander seeds
1/2 tsp - Cumin seeds
1 inch piece - Cinnamon stick
1 Tbsp - grated, dried Coconut (I substitute with fresh)
1 inch piece - Ginger,
4-5 nos - Garlic cloves (2-3 if the cloves are plump)
1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp - Jaggery, grated
1 tsp - Tamarind extract/ pulp from a key lime sized tamarind ball
2 Tbsp - Peanut oil/Vegetable oil
6-7 nos - Curry leaves
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash the eggplants and pat them dry. You can chop off the thick stem on top, but leave the crown intact. It helps hold the eggplant together during the cooking process.
In a sauté pan dry roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, coriander and cumin seeds, grated coconut and cinnamon stick one after the other. Use a medium flame and stir the ingredients frequently to achieve even browning.

Add tablespoon of oil to the pan and brown the sliced onions, about 8-10mins. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over them

grind roasted ingredients to a fine paste along with half the cooked onions, ginger, garlic, tamarind extract, turmeric powder and a little water

Using a paring knife, carefully make crosswise slits through the eggplant stopping an inch before you get to the stem end. Stuff about a teaspoon of the paste into the slits, this will need some patience :)

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a deep saucepan, sauté the curry leaves and carefully add the stuffed brinjals to the pan. They tend to splutter a lot, so I cover the pan and let them cook for about 10 mins, until they soften. Rotate them every few minutes so they cook evenly.

Reduce the heat a bit, add the rest of the masala paste, the other half of the cooked onions, red chilli powder, a cup and a half of water and salt to taste.

Cook on medium heat until the eggplants are cooked through and the oil starts to separate from the masala and collect around the edges.

Serve warm with mild jeera rice, pulao or phulka's.

mixed vegetables and beans cracked wheat pulav

healthy and delicious version of Daliya (cracked wheat or Bulgar wheat) for weight watchers.
simple and easy to make with calorie value of 120 for one bowl serving.

Ingredients:-

1) mixed beans(rajma,white eyed beans, canola bean...we usually get a pack in all the supermarkets)
    - 1 cup soaked overnight
2) mixed vegetables ( cabbage ,cauliflower, brinjal. green peas, carrots or anything of ur choice)

3) daliya or Bulgar wheat- 1 cup

4)onion 1 finely diced

5)1 tomato-optional

6)cumin seeds-1 tsp

7)green chilies-2

8)olive oil -1 tsp

9)a pinch of turmeric powder,1 tsp of garam masala powder

METHOD

1)heat a pressure cook add oil ,cumin seed,green chilly and onions
2)add all the beans,vegetables,powdered masala and salt
3)add daliya/bulgar wheat and tomato and stir well.
4)after around 5 mins add 1 cup water and pressure cook till 2-3 whistles.
5)serve with yogurt or raita.