Bagara Baigan (Stuffed Eggplant)

For vegetarians and meat lovers this is a big favorite - stuffed eggplant... eggplant at its finest ;) I love this dish myself. There are a few different ways to make it...mostly driven by the state of region in India. Hyderabad has its own signature way of making, Nellore has its way of making it, and Vizag has its own way of making it. I love all ways, perhaps because I just like variety!

So, here's a Nellore style of making eggplant. Btw, a quick search on eggplant nutrition facts, revealed the following:

Eggplant is:

• Low in Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Cholesterol
• High in Dietary Fiber, Folate, Potassium, Manganese, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper

The nutritional value and health benefits of eggplant makes it ideal for:

• Maintaining optimum health
• Weight loss

Ingredients:
Indian Eggplant (8-10)
1 medium sized red onion
3 green chillies
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
handful fresh coriander leaves
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/2 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder

Process:
Chop up the onions, green chillies coriander leaves
Heat up a deep saute pan.
Add about 2 tbsp oil
Add the onions and green chillies, saute until slight yellow
Add the ginger garlic paste, saute until the mixture is golden brown
Add the dry ingredients (cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, chilli powder)
Saute for another minute to allow the dry spices to get toasty (it brings out the flavors really well)
Add the dry roasted peanuts, and give it a stir - another couple of minute
Add salt to taste
Set aside from the stove and allow it to cool down
In a food processor, blend the above mixture with the coriander leaves, to a fine consistency
Not it's time to prepare the eggplant:
Cut it into 4 sections as if you are creating a flower out of it. Important thing is to not cut it all the way. The base (part which holds the stalk) should be intact, such that it's still a whole eggplant.. just with 4 "petals"
Cut all eggplants in a similar fashion
Heat some oil in a saute pan, and stir fry them such that all sides get a nice carmelization. Do not over-stir, or else the eggplant will fall apart.
Once the eggplant is nicely browned, add the mixture from the food processor.
Cook for 7-8 minutes, so that the eggplant soaks in the sauces.
While cooking, do not over-stir and mix carefully.

Serve hot with rice or roti/naan!

Chinese vegetable fried rice

You know what sometimes just waters my mouth is a delicious fried rice full of savoury vegetables and just enough spice !;)

Ingredients
[For 4 people]
2 cups cooked rice (better if its left over as the moisture in the rice is either evaporated or lost in refrigeration giving it a dry consistency, which is key). If you are preparing the rice fresh, once cooked lay it out on a open dish so the heat and vapor is gone.
5-6 garlic cloves
Broccoli cut into medium size pieces
10-12 Green beans chopped
5 carrots diced
12 white button mushrooms chopped
6-7 snow peas
1 bell pepper cut in thin long wedges
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
3 dried red chillies
3 eggs
1 onion (1 big or 2 small)
Green peas
Spring Onions for garnish

Process
In a wok, heat some oil (You can add butter to give it a richer taste)
Add 5-6 garlic cloves finely cut TIP: shouldn't let them brown too much otherwise they will give a bitter taste
when they just about start to turn yellow, add onions(one big, or 2 small) finely cut - can be largely cut if you like to see them.
add 1 tsp black pepper
add some red pepper flakes and red chillies. You can also add green chillies instead
once onions are fried, add the vegetables except bell peppers, salt to taste; about 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
Let the veggies let go of the water in them - might take up to 3-5 minutes
Add bell peppers, mix, push it to the side of the pan
Break open 3 eggs - scramble them on the wok
once the eggs are cooked, mix with rice and stir
Add 2 tsp white pepper.
1 tsp black pepper again
check the taste to see if more soy sauce is needed
add spring onions if you have, else its fine
toss it, and serve.

Chinese Broccoli Stir-fry

A good friend of Mahesh, Bentley, introduced me to this awesome vegetable! So now there I am at the chinese/asian supermarket every other week or month going for one precise reason, well I should say two - 1)Basil leaves 2) Chinese broccoli

This is the simplest recipe but with great results and very healthy for you, an excuse to get some greens in your body.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of chinese broccoli cut in halves
3 pieces of garlic chopped
1 whole red chilli broken into halves
3 tsp soy sauce (for low sodium, use lite soy sauce)
1 pinch of black pepper (optional)
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Wash the broccoli thoroughly, as the last thing you want is sand on your teeth. One minor fact that sometime people overlook is the manner to wash the greens - Never put them in running water hoping the sand/soil will wash away.
1.Make sure you wash them in a deep dish immerse the leaves in the water
2.Take them out into a second container by hand (Don't drain the water from the leaves instead as the left over sand lying as sediment will stick back on the leaves)
Repeast 1, 2 as needed. I do it at least twice maybe a third time if I still see sand in the water.

In a pan, warm a dash of olive oil (or sesame oil or peanut oil for alternative flavor)
Add the garlic and red chili
Immediately add the chinese broccoli, soy sauce and salt
Sprinkle a few drops of water and cover with a lid.
Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes and turn the stove off.

Serve as a side with chinese chicken fried rice
Or
Just eat it as a meal!

Spinach Dal (Palakura Pappu)

Ingrediants
A bag of baby spinach
1 red onion if small or 1/2 big red onion
3-4 garlic cloves, cut into small pieces
3 green chillies(if you have it, else skip this)
1 cup urad daal (kandi pappu)
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tomato (if you have it, else you can skip this) cut into small pieces
2 pinches of hing (aesofetida)

Preparation
boil the daal(in a pressure cooker if you have it, OR just add 4 times as much water, cover it partially with a lid, and cook it on medium heat. The latter method takes longer, so start this process early on - 45 mins. You dont have to worry about it once you set it on the stove, just make sure it's not burning at the bottom). Set aside once cooked

In a pan, add about 2 tbsp oil (To add that zing thing, add 1 tbsp pure ghee to this or you can do mix and match of oil and ghee)
once oil is mildly hot and ghee is melted, add some coriander seeds, cumin, hing, and the garlic pieces, green chillies if any, curry leaves if any
After a min or so just when the garlic is turning slight yellow, add the onions
stir fry until onions are golden brown
Add the tomato pieces, stir fry it until the tomato is softened and beginning to form a think paste with the rest of the ingrediants in the pan
Add turmeric, chilli powder, salt to taste, and stir
add the spinach, stir for 2-3 mins on medium - high heat
Add the cooked daal, boil for 15 mins on medium-high heat.

Serve:
Add finely cut coriander leaves as garnish on top before serving.