Bharwa Baingan Stuffed Eggplant

Baingan is love and though I wasnt a big fan of this vegetable growing up, I happily look forward to cooking one of my eggplant recipes every week. If you love baby eggplant recipes, do check out my easy recipe of achari baigan (without stuffing). Stuffed vegetables are hugely popular in indian cuisine. Vegetables like green bell peppers, okra and tomatoes are stuffed to create amazing vegetarian indian dishes. My kids love bharwa bhindi, however since I love everything eggplant, my pick is usually bharwa baingan to be scooped with paratha! Vegetarian Indian food is a diverse and every region in India has its own way of making stuffed eggplants- stuffing them with peanuts, cashews, coconut, bengal gram lentils, tamarind chillies etc. In most recipes, first a masala is cooked, the baby eggplants are stuffed with then cooked till done. The north indian preparation is a little different.

About Bharwa Baigan

Bharwa means stuffed and baingan is the hindi term for brinjal or aubgerines or eggplants. For this recipe, most common variety to use is indian baby eggplant or chote (small) baigan. Baby eggplants have a very thin and soft skin and they are almost seedless and quite fleshy. Their taste is milder as compared to the large Italian eggplants that we use for making bharta. This punjabi style bharwa baingan is how mom makes it every time. It is a saucy tangy preparation with a thickish masala coating the eggplants. These bharwa baingan are much easier than the west indian or south indian preparations since we dont precook the stuffing. Once cooked, the eggplant absorb the flavors of the spices and become super delicious. You will love the deep rich flavors of this sabzi with flatbreads & green chutney or dal-chawal. These stuffed baingan are vegan and nut free as well.

Easy to make- You dont have to prepare any stuffed masala. Just mix a few powdered spices to make the spice mix and stuff the eggplants. Perfect Make Ahead Dish- These actually taste better if you make them a few hours ahead before serving since the eggplants absorb the flavors. These bharwa baigan can be made and kept for 2-3 days. The taste won’t change. Rich & Delicious- I feel this is a great dish to include in your vegetarian party menu. Stuffed baingan look impressive and they are rich and delicious for dinner menus.

How to Make Bharwa Baingan Masala

Start by mixing the spice powders in a small bowl. The spice mix is what gives this dish its flavor. Here are the spices I use

Wash and pat dry the baby eggplants. I leave the stems but you can trim if you wish. Using a sharp knife, make cross slits in each eggplant to make a cavity with four parts. The eggplant should still be whole. Slightly open the eggplant and spoon the sukha(dry) masala that we prepared into the cavity. You will have a little bit leftover masala, reserve it to use later. In a pot or kadai, warm up mustard oil, temper with fenugreek seeds and add sliced onions. Saute onions for a little bit and then add cumin seeds and minced garlic. Add thinly sliced tomatoes and layer the eggplants in a single layer over the onions. Sprinkle the levier masala and salt and cover. Cook for 20 minutes or so till the baigan are soft and tender but not mushy or falling apart. Finish with chopped cilantro. Serve.

Few Tips

Selecting Eggplants :- Choose eggplants with smooth, soft skins without any spots. The skin should not be too dark else the eggplants will have lot of seeds. Make sure that the eggplants are dry before you start stuffing them. Kind of Oil :-Mustard oil gives authentic taste to most punjabi/north indian dishes. However you can substitute with any neutral cooking oil like avocado or grapeseed oil. Oil Quantity:-Dont skimp on oil. Certain vegetables like eggplant, potatoes and okra taste better when they are cooked in little extra oil. Variation :-You can make this recipe with slender Japanese eggplants (lambe baigan in India) if you are not able to find the baby ones. Make a slit lengthwise in the japanese eggplant and stuff with dry masala. Rest of the recipe remains same. Additions :-You can add some potatoes or whole pearl/ sambar onions while the eggplant cooks. Cooking Pot:-Avoid cooking this recipe in cast iron or iron kadai or any pot made with reactive material. Enamaled cast iron is fine. Cooking Temperature:- Avoid cooking eggplants on too high or too low heat. We want them to cook in their own juices. Once the eggplants appear a bit sweaty, cover the pot/kadai and cook on constant low- medium heat.