Stuffed Eggplant aka Ennai kathirikkai

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!!!

This recipe is so special to me as it would be in our Sunday lunch during my childhood. All credits to my Mom who cooks exceptionally well each and every day.Whenever I see eggplant, my Mom's Kottu rasam and Ennai kathirikkai comes to my mind.

My version of stuffed eggplant is different than my Mom's.But this will definitely be a treat to your taste buds.

Stuffed Eggplant

Ingredients

Tamarind                  - small lemon size/ pulp 1 tsp
Hing                         -1/2 tsp
Turmeric                   -1/2 tsp
 Mustard                  -1/2 tsp
Onion                       - 1 small chopped
Curry leaves             few
Salt                          to taste
Baby Eggplants         1 lb
Oil                             4 tsp

To Dry Roast

Coriander seeds     - 3 tsp
Channa Dhal          - 2 tsp
Urad Dhal              - 1 tsp
Red Chillies            -4 to 5
Roasted Peanuts     -1 1/2 tsp

Soak the tamarind in half a cup of water.Heat a kadai and dry roast the ingredients till you get a nice aroma and transfer it to a plate to cool down. In the same kadai add a tsp of oil and saute the onions and curry leaves until the onions become translucent.Let it cool. Then grind all the dry roasted ingredients, onions and curry leaves,salt and turmeric to a fine paste by adding some water.

Mean while wash the eggplants and pat it dry. Then slit the eggplants vertically keeping the stem intact.Now with a help of a small spoon stuff the ground paste generously into the eggplants.

Extract thick tamarind pulp and keep it ready .

Now heat the flat pan with remaining oil and add mustard seeds and let it crackle. Then add the stuffed eggplants. Then add in the tamarind pulp , hing and salt. In a low heat, cover and cook for about 5 minutes and then open and rotate the eggplants . Repeat the same for 15 minutes.Now the eggplants would look little shrunk and glossy.Thats it. Enjoy with hot rice and Vatha khuzhambu / Rasam.