This traditional Indian dish consists of eggplants and potatoes stuffed with a chickpea flour based filling. It’s savory, it’s sweet, very simple and easy to make with the use of with my Easy Indian Spice Blend!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Indian, Vegan
Keyword easy indian recipe, vegan eggplant recipe, vegan indian recipe
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 45 minutesminutes
Servings 5servings
Calories 417kcal
Author Anjali Lalani
Ingredients
10babyeggplants, baby Indian eggplants (see notes below)
To Prep The Baby Eggplants (skip, and see notes below if you have another type of eggplant):
Cut the top and bottom off of each baby eggplant so that they are each shaped like a cylinder.
Using a knife, slit each eggplant cross-wise on the top of one side leaving some room at the end. Be careful to NOT slit them all the way through to the bottom of the eggplant (should be joined at the base). See images in the post.
Using your fingers, stuff the Easy Indian Spice Blend in each of the cross-wise slits made in the eggplants and set aside.
To Make the Dish:
In a large wide non-stick pan, heat 1 teasp cooking oil on medium heat. Add the diced white onions and bell peppers and saute on medium-high heat for a few minutes until the onions start to become translucent. Set aside in bowl.
Quickly wipe down the large non-stick pan with a wet paper towel to clean and cool it down.
Heat the non-stick large pan again on medium heat and add 1 teasp cooking oil. Add the black mustard seeds and minced garlic and fry for ~30 seconds until the garlic starts to sizzle. Add the asafoetida (if using) and fry for a few additional seconds.
Turn the heat to medium-low. Place each stuffed baby eggplant slit side up in the pan (or cut eggplant). Sprinkle ~2 tbsp water on top and cover. Cook on medium-low heat until the stuffed eggplants are cooked through (15-20 minutes). Stir in between a few times and add small amounts of additional water (~1 tbsp at a time) if needed to evenly cook the eggplant.
While the eggplant is cooking, cook the potato (see notes below) so that it's tender, yet still firm. Peel, dice into large pieces, and set aside. See notes below on how to cook.
Once the eggplant is cooked (knife should go through gently), remove the cover, add in the cooked diced potatoes, onions, and bell peppers. Gently mix and fold everything together.
Turn the heat to medium. Sprinkle about 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp of the Easy Indian Spice Blend on top, followed by some water as needed to keep the dish from becoming dry (about 1/3-1/2 cup water slowly sprinkled in while cooking). Mix to combine and allow the dish to cook uncovered. If you are using different types of eggplant and did not stuff them with the spice mix, then sprinkle additional spice mix to taste on top.
Add 2-3 teasp salt (as needed to taste), and some chili powder (if using for spice).
Cook for an additional ~10 minutes, turn off the heat, and generously garnish with finely chopped cilantro.
To serve, (1) enjoy with cooked rice, fresh roti/tortilla, or (2) sandwich the Indian Spice Stuffed Eggplants & Potatoes in between two slices of bread (I typically use sourdough or whole wheat) and press in a sandwich maker until sealed, grilled, and crispy on both sides.
I usually choose to make option (2) above the following day with any leftovers and serve it with some ketchup (for the kids) or hot sauce.
Notes
Alternate Cooking Method (no stuffing eggplants) - Instead of stuffing the eggplants and pre-cooking the potato, you can follow this easier method of cooking. This method also allows the use of regular large eggplant (Italian or chinese) instead of baby eggplants. Follow the instructions above with these changes:
Cut the eggplant and potatoes into medium pieces.
Instead of stuffing the eggplant, once the onions and peppers are done cooking, add in the uncooked potatoes first and cover for a few minutes to pre-cook.
Add the eggplant pieces, cover, and cook until both the eggplant and potatoes are tender (follow the method above for cooking covered).
Once the potatoes and eggplant are tender (not mushy), add in the bell peppers & onions and sprinkle on a generous amount of my Easy Indian Spice Blend so that the entire dish is coated.
Follow the steps above to finish off the dish, and season with salt.
Asafetida (hing) - Although this powder is naturally gluten-free, it is almost always manufactured by diluting it significantly with wheat flour. There are some brands you can find that make it with rice flour. If you are uncertain and have a gluten-free diet, then you can easily omit this ingredient.To Cook Potato -I typically use my Microwavable Steamer for this step by slicing the potato in half lengthwise, placing it in the steamer with 1-2 tbsp water at the base, and microwaving it for about 5 minutes. Allow the potato to cool with the cover off, peel, and dice into large sections. Alternatively, you can boil the potato, but be sure not to overcook so that it loses it's shape when diced.