stuffed brinjals or bharelu shaak

Most people hear the name aubergine, brinjal or eggplant and make a face. That includes my lovely daughter Nami. Try this recipe out and brinjals will not taste the same.With the limited number of vegetables available at present in Mombasa, I constantly have to figure out a way to repeat the vegetables but try and them in different ways.

Both my mum and Nunu made stuffed brinjals or eggplants  only when we had guests over for lunch or dinner. However, I make them often as I can especially when I get the small variety. The small ones cook pretty fast and at the same time hold their shape pretty well compared to the slightly long ones we soemtimes get in the market. However, I use both of them, as long as I have stuffed brinjals whenever I have a craving for them.

Eggplants, brinjals or aubergines are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Its a rich source of iron, potassium, manganese and dietary fibres. It is rich in nasunin, an antioxidant which helps to lower bad cholesterol, helps to keep blood vessels healthy and controls blood sugar.

There are so many different ways a stuffing for the brinjals can be made. Some use just a mixture of dry spices, some use coconut only, some use peanuts. The filling I have used, I learnt from my mother in law Nunu. I find it so tasty and its got it all ..coconut, besan, peanuts, sesame seeds and the spices.

The trick for the stuffing to stay in the brinjal and not spill out is that you add a bit more oil and make the filling a bit paste like rather than dry. It also makes it easier to stuff them. Secondly, I don’t cut the brinjals in X as most do as by the time they get cooked the filling or stuffing comes out. I make a slit on the side, and slice a thin bit off from the cut, much like a wedge.This allows me stuff as much stuffing as possible and the stuffing can go deep into the brinjal. What do I do with the thin slices that I’ve cut off. I simply add it along with the stuffed brinjals to cook.

Coming to the gravy, I make two different kinds. Sometimes I do not adding the left over stuffing to the tomato gravy and the resulting curry is reddish in colour. If I have a bit of stuffing left over, then  I add it along with the tomato puree and the resulting curry is a thick gravy one. Cook it the way you like. My mum never added tomato puree, it was just stuffed brinjals on their own.

Make what suits your family. Whenever I make stuffed brinjals, I don’t bother to make a dal dish so the curry has to have a bit of gravy. We usually enjoy it with thin rotis.

STUFFED BRINJALS or BHARELU SHAAK

For the stuffing:

¼ cup chickpea flour (besan, chana flour)

¼ cup coarse peanut powder

¼ cup grated fresh coconut

2 tbsp sesame seeds (tal), roasted and ground to a coarse powder

¼ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)

2 tbsp coriander cumin powder (dhana jiru)

½ tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp green chili paste

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

½ tsp sugar

½ – ¾ tsp salt

¼ cup finely chopped fresh fenugreek (methi)

2 – 3 tbsp oil

2 tsp lemon juice

For the shaak or sabji:

12 small brinjals round or long ones

2 tbsp oil

¼ tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)

½ tsp mustard seeds (rai)

½ tsp cumin seeds (jeeru)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp asafetida (hing)

½ – 1 cup fresh tomato puree

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander