Baking

Stuffed eggplant or brinjal

On July 16, 2012 by

This is a beautiful dish which is filling and looks nice too. You can serve it on a platter with other veggies or rice and the grand violet colour of the eggplant makes the dish stand out. There is no fixed recipe for the stuffing, I used things I had at home and I thought the combination of mushrooms and eggplant was a good idea. Feel free to experiment with any other stuffing and let me know how it works out!
 
Prep time: 20 min Cooking+Baking time: 10+30 min Serves: 2 to 4

Ingredients:
Medium to large eggplant/brinjal: 1
Chopped onion: 1 medium
Sliced cremini mushrooms: 4 large
Chopped tomato: 1
Crushed garlic: 1 clove
Plain flour:  2 tbsp
Grated parmesan cheese: 4 tbsp
Milk: 3/4th cup
Bread crumbs: 1/2 cup
Oregano: 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder:1/2 tsp
Chopped cilantro: 2 sprigs
Olive oil: 3 tbsp
Pepper: 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
1) Slice the top of the eggplant horizontally so that you can scoop off the pulp out of the other half later. Boil the two halves in a bg pan for 15-20 minutes till they become tender but still hold their shape.
2) Dice the top half into small pieces and scoop out the pulp from the other half, leaving about 1/4th of an inch thickness in the shell. Make sure the shell holds its shape and is not to wobbly.
3) Saute the onions, garlic, mushrooms and add the tomatoes and eggplant. Add all the spices and cook the eggplant till it becomes a little mushy.
4) Stir in the milk and flour and keep mixing it till the liquid dries up.
5) Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees F and drizzle a little oil in a deep pan.
6) Place the eggplant shell in the pan and scoop the cooked eggplant mixture into it. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro and bread crumbs over it and bake it for 20 minutes.

7) Sprinkle some grated cheese over it and bake it for 10 more minutes till the cheese melts and serve hot.

Note: I put some baked potatoes around the eggplant shell and you can also add any other vegetables. Drizzle some oil and add seasoning and it will cook with the eggplant. You can serve this on the same platter for a complete meal

Written by

Meghalee Das is a former journalist, who occasionally writes as a freelancer. She loves traveling, camping, hiking, kayaking, gardening and of course, cooking. Currently she is doing her MBA from Texas State University and updates her blog whenever she gets the time!