Baingan Masala (Baby Eggplant with Spices)

Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, and I love all things eggplant. But this recipe is one that I especially love. You need the small round baby eggplants for this recipe which are fairly easy to find in the supermarkets today.

Baingan Masala (Baby Eggplant with Spices)

Ingredients:

500 gms of baby eggplants

2 large onions

2 green chilies roughly chopped

1 heaped tsp of ginger garlic paste

2 tomatoes

1 small tetra pack of tomato paste (135gms)

1/2 tsp of mustard seeds

few curry leaves

1/2 tsp of kashmiri red chili powder

1 tsp of coriander powder

1 tsp of cumin powder

1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

Pinch of sugar

salt to taste

Method:

Keep the stalk of the eggplant intact. Do not remove the green part on the top as this will hold the whole eggplant together. You can chop off a bit of the stalk if it is too long and leave just a bit near the eggplant.

Make 2 slits in the shape of a  +  at the bottom of each eggplant. This will help the eggplant to absorb some of the goodness of all those spices later. 

Grind the onions to a paste in a mixer and reserve. In a casserole, heat oil. When hot, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Then add in the onion paste, green chilies and ginger garlic paste. Cook till the onions are translucent. 

In the same mixer, add in the tomatoes and blend to a puree. Add the blended tomatoes to the onions in the dish. Then add in the spice powders ie. chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder. 

Now add in the tomato paste and salt to taste. Add a pinch of sugar, to balance out the sourness from the tomatoes. 

Add in the eggplants and give it a good stir. Then cover with a lid and cook on low for 10 mins. Take a peak ever so often as you want the eggplants to be soft and cooked but not falling apart. They should hold their shape. 

Serve hot..