Bharli Vangi | Maharastrian style Stuffed Brinjals

A few food combos such as  'Rajma-Chawal', 'Jolada Rotti-Ennegayi', 'Chapati-Usli', 'Jhunka-Bhakri', 'Avakay-Steamed Rice','Khichdi- Kadhi', 'Kadhi-Chawal' feature in my menu quite often as I  love to indulge in them once in a while. A few of these combos are regularly made at my place , but some of them are prepared less often - more due to my laziness in preparing them. Jolada rotti - Ennegayi is infact one such combination.

I have already posted a version of stuffed eggplants - 'Bagara Baingan' in my blog which is a typical Hyderabadi style dish. Today, I am posting a Maharasthrian version of stuffed eggplants called "Bharli Vangi".Both the recipes are similar but they differ in their taste and texture. Bharli Vangi pairs well with Jowar bhakri or Rice flour Bhakri or Chapati.

 

This recipe needs a bit more oil which makes it delicious and am sure the pictures explain that.You can see a layer of oil floating on the top.Though I do not prefer using a lot of oil in cooking,it was an exception that day. I have also mentioned the preparation of a version with less quantity of oil, in my notes.

Bharli Vangi | Maharashtrian style Stuffed Eggplants Recipe:

(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

10-12 small Eggplants

1/2 cup Ground nuts,dry roasted and skinned

2 tbsp roasted Sesame seeds

2 tbsp Coriander powder

2 tsp Red chili powder

1 tsp Cumin powder

1 tsp Garam masala or Goda masala

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

a small gooseberry sized Tamarind,extract to pulp

1 tbsp grated Jaggery(optional)

Salt to taste

2-3 tbsp Oil

Method:

• Remove the stems of eggplants and slit the eggplant into four by keeping the top portion intact.Drop them in salted water for 10 mins.
• Grind roasted and skinned groundnuts and sesame seeds to a coarse powder.
• In a wide bowl add groundnuts and sesame seeds powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, garam masala(goda masala), turmeric powder, salt and mix well.
• Add tamarind pulp and grated jaggery to the above mix and mix well.Sprinkle some water to the mix so that the mixture becomes little wet and would be easy to stuff the eggplants.You should not mix it to a paste,you should add only enough water to bind the masalas together.
• Stuff all the eggplants with this masala mixture and keep them aside.
• Heat oil in a big thick bottomed kadai and arrange the stuffed eggplants side by side and let them fry for 2-3 mins.Add the remaining masala over them.
• Cover it and reduce the flame and cook on low-medium flame for 20-25 mins.Flip the eggplants carefully a couple of times in between so that they would roast evenly on all sides.Check the top portion of eggplant is cooked or not by inserting the knife.
• Pour half to one cup of water depending on the consistency you need and cover it and let them cook again for 7-8 mins until the oil floats on top.

Serve it hot with Chapati/Jowar Bhakri/Roti/Rice or any other Bhakri.

Notes:

1. You can add finely chopped sauteed onions to the masala mix before stuffing the eggplants.
2. Eggplants can be replaced by potatoes and follow the same recipe.
3. You can even mix both the eggplants and potatoes and prepare the same recipe.
4. This recipe needs a bit more quantity of oil than usual as the stuffed eggplants cook faster in oil.If we add water to them initially they would take longer time.
5. You can even cover the kadai with a deep bottomed plated filled with water while cooking.It ensures that the eggplants are cooked evenly and also you can use less oil.

Also check out another similar version of Stuffed Eggplants -" Bagara Baingan" recipe in my blog.