Bharwa Baingan / Bharleli Vangi / Stuffed Eggplants

Shenga/Peanuts are commonly used in Maharashtrian cuisine. You might have read my previous post, Gavarchi Bhaji - Cluster Beans with a peanut flavor. Today, we are cooking stuffed baby eggplants with peanuts and sesame seeds. This stuffed eggplants curry, called as Bharleli Vaangi in Marathi is one of our favorites with both chapatis and rice. In North Indian cuisine, this curry is popularly known as Bharwa Baingan or Baghare Baingan.

Ingredients:

Baby Eggplants/Brinjals/Baingan/Vaangi - 10

Onion - 1 big

Raw Peanuts/Groundnuts/Kache Shenga - 1 cup

White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tbsp

Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp

Dry Red Chillies - 4

Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp

Tamarind Paste - 1 tsp

Grated Jaggery or Brown Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Salt

Oil

How to cook Bharleli Vangi:

Finely chop onions and cilantro.
Roast the peanuts till they slightly darken in colour. Let them cool. Grind roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, tamarind, red chillies, turmeric, little salt, jaggery, garam masala to a slightly coarse powder. I added the peanut skin too, you can discard them. Use red chilli powder/cayenne pepper if dry red chillies are not available.

Stuffing for Eggplants: In a mixing bowl, add the ground coarse powder. Add ginger garlic paste and few tbsp water. Stuffing must be thick and not runny. Slit the eggplants in a crisscross pattern and fill them with the stuffing. Save the leftover stuffing.
Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. After few seconds, add onions and little salt. Saute until onions turn soft. Now add stuffed eggplants and the leftover stuffing. Saute gently for a minute or two. Add about 1 cup water, stir and cook it covered until eggplants turn soft. Keep checking after every 2 - 3 minutes to avoid burning. Flip/Turn the eggplants so that they are evenly cooked.