Bharwa Baigan/भरवां बैगन ( Stuffed eggplant/Brinjal)

Bharwa Baigan (Stuffed brinjal)

The sight of small Dark color brinjal instantly bring the memory of my paternal grand pa dolling out generous helpings of stuffed brinjal prepared by him, along with hot chapatti. Stuffed brinjal prepared by him is the best I have tasted till date. For him kitchen was female domain, but when we used to go to their place he would enter the kitchen just to make stuffed baigan for us! There are so many variations of making stuffed baigan. In north India the thin long dark purple color is used for this preparation, whereas in Maharashtra small one with white and purple shade having thorny stalk is preferred, in southern part of India small one with dark purple color is used. As far as I am concerned I love all of them with any variation in the filling.

Brinjal is rich in Vitamin A, B­₁, B_2, B₃ and minerals like Potassium, Calcium, and Iron. It is highly rich in dietary fibers. Brinjal is good for type 2 diabetes and to maintain cholesterol levels thus good for heart.

The anti –oxidants present in brinjal help in fighting cancer. Brinjal is also said to help in fighting insomnia, if roasted brinjal is taken with honey just before going to bed

Preparation Time: 30 min.

Cooking Time : 30-40 min.

Servings: 10 medium servings

Ingredients Required For Preparing Bharela Baigan:

• 500 gm. small variety brinjal

Biagan ( Brinjal/Egg plant) for making stuffed baigan ( Bharwa Baigan)

• 2 Medium size Onions

• 5-6 Cloves of Garlic

• 2 / 3 cm. Piece Ginger

• 1 Tea spoon Cumin seeds

• 50 gm. Ground nuts (moong fali)

• 1 Tea spoon Red Chili Powder

• 1/2Tea spoon Turmeric Powder

• 1 Tea spoon Amchur Powder

• 1 Tea spoon Garam masala

• 1 Rea spoon Dhania Powder (coriander seed powder)

•  2-3 sprigs of fresh Coriander

• Salt to taste

• 15 – 20 ml olive oil / mustard oil / or any other cooking oil

Directions For Preparing Bharela Baigan:

• Wash and towel dry the baigan.

• Split the brinjals into four parts in such a manner that it remains joined from the stalk end.

Split to four parts from bottom but from the stalk

Brinjal(Baigan) split from the bottom

• Grate onions.

Grated Onion

• Grate ginger.

• Cut garlic very fine.

• Roast ground nuts.

• Remove the outer covering of roasted ground nuts.

• Make fine powder of roasted and cleaned ground nuts in a grinder- mixer.

Direction For Preparing the Filling;

• Take 2ml. oil in a pan and let it become hot.

• Add cumin seeds and let them splutter.

• Add grated onion and cook till the onion is of just light pink color.

• Add grated ginger and finely cut garlic.

• Cook for 2 min. with regular stirring.

• Add salt, mix nicely and cook for a min.

• Add Red chili powder, Dhania powder, Garam masala and mix nicely.

Dhaniya and red chili powder added to partially cooked onion

• Add finely cut fresh coriander leaves

To the onion mixture coriander added

• Cook for 2-3 min. with regular stirring,

• Add ground nut powder and mix nicely.

Peanut powder added to the onion spices mixture

All ingredients mixed and being cooked

• Add amchur powder and mix.

• Remove from gas and allow the filling to cool.

Stuffing ready to be filled in the baigan

Preparing the Bharela Baigan:

• Fill the split baigan with the filling.

• Take 10- 15 ml. oil in a thick bottom pan and heat on high flame till the oil is smoking hot.

• Lower the flame and place the stuffed baigan in the pan with hot oil.

Stuffed baigan being cooked on low flame 

• Cook for 2-3min. without turning over and with out covering.

• Turn the brinjals upside down with gentle hands.

Baigan turned with spatula

• Cover and cook for 30 min. with turning over the brinjals every 4-5 min.

Covered and cooking on low flame

• The cooked brinjals will start losing the oil it had absorbed during cooking.

Bharwa Baigan(Bharela Baigan) Stuffed Brinjal

• The cooked stuffed brinjals will look shiny, soft juicy.

• Take out in a serving plate and serve with hot chapatti / Roti / Paratha and as my grand pa used to do with a broad smile 

Bharwa Baigan (Stuffed Brinjal)

Tips:

• Do not cook on high flame else baigan will become crysp from out side but will remain raw from inside.

• Make sure the brinjals are soft and do not have seeds in them.

• The onions should be just light pink while making filling not dark as it will get further cooked with brinjals.

• Brinjals should collapse and should be soft to touch when cooked.

• Stalk of brinjals should not be removed in any stage of cooking.

Suggested Variations:

• Ground nut can be replaced with finely grated fresh coconut.

• If you are taking coconut then onion can be cut and cooked instead of grating and the finally cooked filling can be cooled and made to coarse paste in grinder – mixer.

• Amchur can be replaced with tamarind pulp.

• Cook the bharela baigan in non stick pan this will reduce the consumption of oil from 15 ml. to 5 ml.