Stuffed Eggplant/Gutti Vankaya

Eggplant, one of the Andhra favorites is also called King of the Vegetables in Andhra. Today's recipe Stuffed Indian Eggplants/ Gutti vankaya kura is one of the many recipes available. This recipe is passed to me from my Mom and I used to love this one as a kid and I love it even now.

Ingredients: 

• Small Indian Eggplants - 10
• Fenugreek seeds 1/8th Teaspoon
• Urad Dal 2 teaspoons
• Chana Dal 2 teaspoons
• Coriander seeds 1 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds 1/2 teaspoon
• Red Chillies 5
• Oil 2 teaspoons
• Salt to taste 

Preparation:

• In a small pan add a 1/4 teaspoon of oil and add fenugreek seeds, urad dal, chana dal, cumin seeds, red chillies and coriander seeds. 
• Fry these until the dals change to light brown in color. Let this mixture cool down, add salt and grind into a smooth powder. 
• Now, slit the Eggplants as shown above on both the sides in opposite directions vertically without cutting them into pieces.
• Fill the eggplants with the ground powder.
• In a pan, add the remaining oil and when the oil gets heated, add the eggplants.
• Cover the pan and cook in a low flame turning the eggplants occasionally.
• Once the eggplants are fully cooked a great authentic dish is ready to be served. This dish tastes good with Rice or Chapathi.

Alterations: 

• Peanuts can also be added to the frying mixture and ground along with other ingredients.

Warnings:

• Be careful when adding the chilies as this makes the curry spicy, adjust according to taste.
• Do not cook the eggplants on high flame.
• Make sure to turn over the eggplants without breaking them into pieces

Tip of the Day:

• When you fry ginger garlic paste, add a little water so that the ginger garlic paste does not stick to the pan and cooks very good.