STUFFED BRINJAL AND RED POTATOES

Stuffed brinjal and red potatoes

This is one of the many famous vegetables/curries from India. There are various recipes for the stuffing, I am making the one which my friend told me about. I made a few changes to it adjust to my taste. Brinjal and eggplant belong to the same family but brinjal are purple, small and round in shape - you will easily find them in Indian grocery stores. I have tried using same sized red potatoes and brinjals so the dish looks nice. Let's look at the ingredients to get an idea what we will need. 

Ingredients :-

4 red baby potatoes, washed and dried
4 Indian style small brinjals, washed and dried
2 tbsp oil
pinch of asafoetida
handful of coriander, chopped

Stuffing :

1/8 cup fine gram flour/besan
4 tbsp roasted peanut powder
2 tbsp white sesame seeds, lightly toasted
2 tsp red chili pwd 
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
1/2 tsp lemon juice
5 tbsp roasted coriander cumin pwd
1 tbsp Maharashtrian style goda masala (preferred) / garam masala
1/8 tsp turmeric pwd.
1/8 tsp sugar

Process :-

1.  Mix all of the stuffing ingredients properly in a bowl.

2.  Make crosscuts like a plus (+) sign on the brinjal and red potato till the end but leaving some space don't they don't fall apart completely. Stuff them with the above mixture till the end. Keep aside the remaining mixture if any.

Stuffed with masala, ready to cook

3.  Heat 2 tbsp oil on medium high in a flat bottom wide pan. Add asafoetida and arrange all the stuffed brinjal and potatoes - masala side up (we want the stuffing intact :)) Sprinkle the leftover masala on top.

4. Cover it and let it cook on medium low heat for 15-20 mins. turning them once/twice with a spatula till they are cooked through but not mushy. Make sure they don't break or fall apart.

5.  Garnish with coriander and serve hot. The go perfectly well with chapati (Indian style bread).