Bharla Vang - Stuffed Brinjal : Maharashtrian style

As I’ve always reiterated that I was a very fussy as a kid. As a kid I grew up with my grandparents while parents were @work; so was totally pampered by both of them, my Aaji (Granny) had concluded that I will never eat vegetables. So she used to make some of delicacies on daily basis to please me, one of them was Bharla Vang , and yeah this was my favorite which I could have on Sundays (as Sundays were predominantly kept only for Non-veg).

This is one of the Authentic Maharashtrian Recipe so jotted down by me on phone from MOM, so recipe courtesy MOM.

You Need:

• Brinjal – Small Eggplants: 5-6 in number

For Stuffing:

• Onion: 3-4 small size - Sliced
• Cinnamon Stick: 1/2 inch
• Cloves: 1-2
• Black Peppercorns: 3-4
• Coriander seeds: 1-2 tsp
• Poppy Seeds: 1-2 tsp
• Grated coconut: 5 tbsp
• Tamarind and Jaggery pulp: 1-2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
• Malavani Masala or Garam Masala or Goda Masala: 1-2 tbsp
• Peanut powder: 3-4 tbsp
• Salt to taste

You Do:

1. Major part of the recipe is the preparation of stuffing, Roast the items in BLUE, till the time the onion and the coconut turns slight light brown and gives out distinct aroma of the ground masala. Let it cool.
2. Grind the above mixture to a patchy powder.Add the tamarind and jaggery pulp with about 3-4 tbsp of water and again grind to make a rough paste.
3. Add turmeric powder along with the mentioned Masala, peanut powder and salt to the mix. MOM uses Malvani masala hence I too prefer the same as it gives the spicy taste, we can also use Goda or Garam masala instead of this.
4. This completes the stuffing. Heat sufficient oil in kadai.
5. Remove the stem part of the eggplant, Give about four to six slits a single eggplant keeping the base intact. Refer the snap.
6. Stuff the stuffing masala and slide it across in the kadai.
7. When done with all the eggplants, cover the eggplants with the remaining masala. Cook the eggplants with covered lid. Add some water if you feel its dry. Cook on low flame till the eggplants turn soft.

Done ! Serve it with Phulkas – Chapatis – Rotis.

Thanks for the eggplants in our family favorite dish , this goes for Shama’s FAMILY'S FAVOURITE FOOD and Anita’s Vegetable Marathon – Eggplant.

Note: In India we normally get Malavani or Goda masala but if you need the exact proportion of Malavani Masala then you can find it here @ Meeras.

Happy Cooking and Posting about it :D