' BAINGAN KI KALONJI ' - Brinjals stuffed with spices

Brinjals/ eggplants are not a favourite vegetable with most people. The following recipe is an old favourite of the family , even the children. The spices in the recipe camouflage the brinjal in a very delicious manner. It makes for an excellent side dish with rice and dal or an accompaniment with parathas , plain or stuffed. If you are an anxious parent , whose children do not find favour with vegetables, do try this and see your little ones enjoy.

You will need long slender brinjals for this dish. they shoud be an inch and half wide and 5-6 inches in length. Take care to choose the freshest and the most crisp of the lot.

Serves : 6
Prep time : 30 mins
Cooking time : 20 mins

" Baingan ki Kalonji " - The Recipe

Ingredients

Brinjals                                         6
corriander seeds                           4 tbsp
ajwain (carom)seeds                     1/2 tsp
mangrail (nigella) seeds                  1/2 tsp
jeera (cumin)                                 1/2 tsp
saunf (aniseed )                              1/2 tsp
methi (fenugreek ) seeds                 1/2 tsp
hing (asafoetida )  powder              1/4 tsp
amchur (dry mango powder)           1tsp
red chilli powder                             1 tsp
sugar                                              1/2 tsp
mustard oil                                     5 tbsp
salt to taste
corriander leaves for garnish


Method :

• wash and dry the brinjals. keep the stem
• dry roast the corriander seeds on low flame till it exudes aroma (about 2-3 mins )
• dry roast ajwain, jeera, saunf,methi and magrail on low flame for a minute
• cool and grind all the roasted spices coarsely .
• mix the salt , sugar, dry mango powder, red chilli powder, asafoetida powder into the ground spice
• combine the spice mix with 1 tbsp mustard oil into a soft mixture
• slit the brinjals lengthwise, taking care not to cut it through
• make six equal portions of the spice mix
• stuff the brinjals with 1 portion each of the spice mix
• ensure that the spice mix is pressed into the brinjals without breaking open the vegetable
• close the brinjal over the spices in between your palms, gently
• heat the remaining mustard oil in a wide shallow pan, to smoking point
• lower flame
• lay the brinjals in the oil , in a single layer
• do not stir it too much
• turn it twice or thrice , to give it a uniform colour on all sides
• drain onto a serving plate
• serve garnished with chopped corriander leaves

variation : you can make a tomato gravy and serve the roasted brinjals covered with it

nutritive value :  Nutritionally, eggplant is low in fat, protein, and carbohydrates and high in iron content

HAANDI MEIN GOSHT

Hello friends...it's been sometime...life has been busy with family obligations...daughter coming back home after 2 years of college.....it is a big excuse to celebrate...not that we, as food lovers need one....so, this occassion is being celebrated by cooking a favourite of hers, also to say bye bye to the winters ( you'd really find it difficult to cook this dish in summers)......the terracotta 'haandi' is the hero of the recipe, putting the well cut kid meat in the heroine's position.......you would need some ground space , since the 'haandi' needs to be put in a pit in mud....if you do not have such a space, feel free to put the 'haandi' or an equivalent vessel in the oven....ask your butcher to give you curry cut of a small goat , best would be kid meat. The 'haandi' in the pit makes for interesting conversation piece and also the favourite spot to sit around and chat. The heady earthy aroma it imparts to the dish has absolutely no substitute. The gentle warmth the coal exudes is more than welcome in the cold night.
       
  You would need
*a 'haandi', an earthen pot of capacity 5-6 kgs. Ask your potter to give you one in which you can cook, a heat resistant one.
*3 kgs of 'kanda' , cowdung cakes
*2 kgs of coal


Recipe for "haandi mein gosht "

Serves 6
Prep Time :       1 hrs
Cooking time :  2 hrs

Ingredients

mutton                                      1 kg
onions                                      1/2 kg (ground to a fine paste, without water)
garlic paste                              2tbsp
ginger paste                             2 tbsp
khus khus (poppy seeds)         2tbsp
milk                                         3/4 cup
cinnamon                                 1" piece
green cardamom                      6
black cardamom                      1
mace                                       1/2" piece
nutmeg                                    1/2
clove                                       6
black peppercorns                   10
bay leaves                               2
ghee (clarified butter)              3 tbsp
mustard oil                             3 tbsp
yoghurt                                  1 cup
rose water                              1/2 tsp
salt                                         to taste
dough to seal                          1 cup

Method

• wash the 'haandi' and upturn to dry it out completely
• prepare a pit in the ground of 2ft depth and 2 ft width
• line with one layer of lit 'kandas' (cowdung cakes)
• in separate place light the coal
• soak the khuskhus, green cardamom, mace and crushed nutmeg in 1 cup milk
• wash mutton and leave to dry
• heat mustard oil till smoking point
• add bay leaf, cinnamon,cloves, crushed black cardamom, black peppercorns
• add onion paste, fry till dry
• add ginger and garlic paste, fry for 2 mins
• take off fire
• slather the insides of the haandi with ghee
• grind the soaked khuskhus and spices into a fine paste
• mix the mutton into the fried onion paste 
• add the yoghurt and the khuskhus/spice paste
• add salt to taste
• put in the haandi
• sprinkle rose water
• put lid and seal tight with dough, ensure that no steam escapes
• lower the 'haandi' into the pit over the smouldering 'kandas'(cowdung cakes)
• put the coal embers on the sides of the 'haandi'
• this should come up till the middle of the 'haandi'
• cover the coal embers with a layer of dry 'kandas'...do not light them.
• cover this layer of cowdung cakes with a cm of dry earth
• make sure the mouth of the pot is not covered

Sit around the pot and enjoy the warmth. Carefully unearth the pot after 2 hrs.  Serve the delectable dish straight from the pot. An ideal accompanyment is rumali roti (a superfine Indian bread ) and some salad on the side

variation : if you do not have space then you could easily cook this in an oven