Stuffed Eggplant/Brinjal (Bharva baigan)

Eggplant is known as Brinjal in some South Asian countries. The vegetable Eggplant is native to India.
Stuffed eggplant is one of my favorites. You must be thinking that I cook a lot of eggplant. The reason is that eggplant is one of the few vegetables found abundantly in the grocery stores in North America. Eggplant also comes in various shapes and sizes so the add on point to this vegetable is that it can easily be cooked in a lot of different ways. This recipe uses the Indian eggplant variety.

No preparation required. Serves 6.

Ingredients:
1. 1.5 pounds Indian eggplant (this one is actually sized and shaped like an egg!)
2. olive oil 4 tablespoons
3. 4 tablespoons dhania powder
4. 1 tablespoon garam masala
5. 1 tablespoon cumin powder
6. 1/2 tablespoon red chili powder
7. 1/4 tablespoon turmeric powder
8. Salt to taste

Instructions:
1. Mix ingredients 2 to 8 in a bowl, but with only a few drops of olive oil and mix well to make masala (stuffing in this case).









2. Slit the eggplants on the sides such that it is wide enough to fill the masala (spices). A small sharp knife will help make uniform vertical slits from the stem to the base. Be careful not to break the eggplants into 2 parts. You can make multiple slits so that masala can be added and or absorbed on multiple sides to make it more flavorful.









3. Fill in the masala made in step 2 in the slits you made.
4. In a pan add olive oil and cook on low flame until the eggplants soften.

Indian eggplant is ready to relish with rice or Paranthas.

In North America, I wouldn't be surprised if this was served as an appetizer because it can be picked up and eaten like finger food too!