stuffed brinjals stir fried with fenugreek greens n ginger


I have always liked the hot n spicy rich gravies and hyderabadi waghara baingan is one of them , the dish is a rich and creamy gravy with stuffed brinjals , the flavors of this curry have been tempting me and i keep trying to bring those flavors into a light n healthy curry ....i make a low oil version without fenugreek leaves sometimes but the version with fresh fenugreek leaves does a complete makeover of the curry....you get those flavors in every morsel and yet feel that it's so different ....actually so much better than the waghara baingan in more ways than one.....especially if you are a methi lover....even if you don't like methi leaves you can make it without the greens n enjoy like a stuffed shallow fried dish.....

Flavors of the traditional cooking can be recreated in a healthier manner and if the recipe is simple , you can think of making it often.....as the traditional recipes are time consuming most of the times....purists may not agree with me but when the recipe cooked in a purist traditional way is something you cannot eat on a daily basis , it needs a makeover ..........i did this with hyderabadi waghara baingan n made it healthier and simpler.......low fat and high on fiber , the fat in the sesame seeds , coconut n peanuts is good fat and is negligible in amounts , more so , if you are adding fenugreek into it you know you are getting only the benefits..........

ingredients...

small eggplants or brinjals 6 nos.
fenugreek leaves 1 cup tightly packed
peanuts 1/2 tbsp
sesame seeds 1/2 tbsp
grated dry coconut 1/2 tbsp ( i used coconut fiber leftover after extracting oil from it )
whole red chillies 3-4 nos.
coriander seeds 1/2 tbsp
fresh thick extract of tamarind 1 tbsp or a bit more if you wish
thin julienne of fresh ginger root 1.5 tbsp ...it gives the curry a very sharp edge
salt to taste
oil 1 tsp

procedure...

dry roast the sesame , peanuts , coriander seeds and red chillies till fragrant , i microwaved them all and made a bigger quantity .......powder them when cool ....it's a very fragrant powder n makes the base of the curry flavor here.....

 mix the tamarind extract n salt to this powder and stuff into the slit egg plants....reserve the remaining paste..

Heat oil in a kadai and place all the brinjals in a layer and cook till the lower side gets cooked n shiny...


now sprinkle all the ginger julienne and flip all the brinjals to cook them on the other side .......pour the remaining paste and cover with the fenugreek leaves and then put on lid ...open the lid after 2 minutes n you will see the fenugreek leaves have wilted.........



  turn over the mixture and let the fenugreek leaves go to the base of the kadai , let it cook on low heat all the while and stir after every minute (not very frequently , you will need to turn n toss only about three times) let it stick to the base of the kadai as it will make the curry more flavorful....scrape when needed ...it gets cooked very fast and the stir frying done after opening the lid is just to make the spice mix more aromatic...it's irresistible when you are cooking this.......



 Take out of the kadai and serve immediately ...we had it with multigrain chapatis but it can be a great side dish for get together too as it is easy to assemble and fast to cook....in that case , just layer everything in the kadai n cook at the time of serving ...total cooking time is about 5 minutes for this quantity ....


You wouldn't miss the flavors of the rich version of waghra baingan ( unless you want a gravy , in that case you can double the amount of the spice mix and add it with some water during cooking ) and i think it gets enhanced with the fenugreek leaves....many recipes require additional cashew nuts and many other spices but i think this simple mix works best to bring the flavor best.....you will know when you make this.......  

Comments

  1. Eggplant, peanut & fenugreek is a very famous combo...I am sure how tasty it might be..

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  2. Hey luks delicious...i love fenugreek , and it combined with brinjals with taste very nice...nice low fat recipe

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  3. Sangeeta, you asked me how much is a 'bunch" of scallions that would be 5-6 scallions.

    Your recipe today looks very, very healthy.

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  4. different one..would like to give a try...delicious

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  5. Hi,

    I have never seen Brinjal in such an exciting way!!

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  6. oooooooooo :) looks very tempting.. Can I have taste of one please ;-)

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  7. I like eggplant stir-fry! Never had this one though, looks very tempting!

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  8. Love it. Stuffed baingan with rotis, a perfect meal for me.

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  9. I love stuffed eggplants! i make them in a similar way except sometimes substitute soy granules for peanuts (not a fan of peanuts). Your recipe looks yummy!

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  10. thanks everybody for your encouraging comments..
    PJ..it's not very peanutty in taste as the sesame, coconut and coriander make it differently aromatic and the addition of methi lends a fresh twist to it...

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  11. Fresh methi & eggplants together....that's something new to me....

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  12. Dear Sangeeta
    I have missed out all the postings of last week and starting with this one.
    The masala is unique..I must try the stuffed brijal, long back , I used to stuff some fish or meat kheema, but not recently.

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  13. thanks Spice and Ushnish...
    i have never tried stuffing meats in brinjal or any other vegetable , in this recipe i have tried to make it high fiber, low fat and whatever fat is there in peanuts n sesame ..it is good fat..
    i have repeated the recipe many a times n every time it manages to get great response ...

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  14. I love stuffed brinjals...yummmmy!!

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  15. Methi is my all time favorite and just add it all vegetables in less or more proportions. I like the twist you have brought to the baghare baingan with this great vegetable.

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  16. Sure a healthy dish with fenugreek and low fat also. Combo is also new to me. Must try.

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  17. hi..nice to meet another sangeeta on blog! :) Thanks for visiting my blog and for your lovely remarks there..you too have a wonderful blog...Keep rocking!!!

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