Stuffed Indian Eggplant
In my humble opinion, the eggplant (Solanum melongena) is a top-tier vegetable, even if it is technically a fruit. Not only because it’s the star of many delicious and nutritious dishes across the globe, but the history of it is pretty fascinating as well.
Let’s start with the name:
This crop (botanically considered a berry) is Indigenous to south and southeast Asia, including regions such as northeastern India, Myanmar, and southwestern China. For this reason, it makes sense that some of the earliest recordings of the plant are found in medicinal and botanical Sanskrit texts as early as 300 BCE. Domestication of the plant was thought to have first occurred in this region, and although there exist earlier descriptors, the Sanskrit word vātingaṇa (or “vaatingan”) came to be.
I’m sure you must be wondering: “where does the name ‘eggplant’ even come from?” While the etymological flow is not completely clear, I will try to explain it here as concisely as possible: from Sanskrit, the Hindustani “badanjan,” Persian “badenjan,” and Arabic “baadanjaan” eventually formed. Arab and Persian traders introduced the eggplant to Europe at the Iberian peninsula by way of the Indian Ocean during the Islamic Golden Age (circa 800 CE), which gave rise to the Spanish “berenjena” and later the Portuguese “beringela.” The Italian “melanzana” and Greek “melitzane” originated from mala insana (i.e., mad apple), which refers to the folk myth that consumption of the food caused insanity. The French “aubergine” eventually took form, which became the English word as well. Finally, we are brought to our beloved “eggplant” (used by English speakers across North America, Australia, and New Zealand), which came during the British occupation of India, as there existed white egg-like cultivars of the plant during this period².
As you can see, the history of this crop is quite complex and intertwined. My above synopsis is certainly an oversimplification of the vast timeline.
While nutritional content varies by cultivar and cultivation conditions, eggplant is generally considered beneficial to human health for a few reasons. Firstly, it is a good source of dietary fiber. Fiber consists of the non-digestible component of plant cells found in fruits and vegetables. Although we are unable to digest fiber on our own as humans, certain resident bacteria populations in our gut can ferment this fiber to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that can serve as fuel for the intestinal epithelial cells lining the gut. Furthermore, dietary fiber is important for the prevention of both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer (e.g., colorectal), as soluble fiber has cholesterol-lowering effects, promotes healthy digestion by adding bulk to the stool, and helps to bind and remove toxins¹.
Eggplants are also beneficial due to their antioxidant qualities. Polyphenols, metabolites produced by plants that help protect them from environmental stressors, are responsible for this antioxidant capacity and work by neutralizing reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are potentially dangerous byproducts of metabolic processes in the human body. Namely, eggplants have an antioxidant called nasunin, which is an anthocyanidin (polyphenol subtype), responsible for the purple-pigmented skin found in most eggplant species. In fact, the smaller purple varieties, such as the Indian eggplant used in this dish, were shown to have higher antioxidant capacity than other types⁴. Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is another major phenolic compound found in eggplants and has several benefits related to human cardiometabolic health³.
You can look forward to separate blog posts in the future diving deeper into these different food components and nutrients!
I was first inspired to make this dish after watching a Gujarati film from 2022 called Last Film Show (Chhello Show). There are multiple scenes of the main character's mother cooking different dishes in their small home in rural Gujarat, India — one being this sort of stuffed eggplant, known as “bharela ringan nu shaak” in Gujarati. How the film depicted her cooking this meal was beautiful — grinding together the filling, tempering the spices, frying off the paste in hot oil, combining all of the ingredients into a cohesive dish, and sending it off with the boy as he hurries away for school.
As someone who eats mostly plant-based, I’m always looking to get more protein into my meals where I can. So, I thought to myself: how could I make a high-protein version of this dish? My mind immediately went to paneer! I’m certain I am not the first person to do this, but adding paneer to the stuffing seemed like a no-brainer way to increase the protein content. Ultimately, I decided to go with tofu, since I try my best to eat vegan where I can and they fill very similar roles in this recipe.
Publishing Indian recipes as a non-Indian becomes a bit tricky when trying to figure out what to name the dish. Even speaking colloquially about Indian food in English can be challenging since there aren’t great comparisons to many of the foods here in the west, and labeling every dish as a “curry” erases much of the cultural diversity, nuance, and beauty that this cuisine holds. On the other hand, because of this diversity across the Indian subcontinent, many regions have very similar dishes but name them differently due to language differences. That creates a dilemma for someone like myself when trying to determine a name for a recipe; do I go with the popular northern Indian “bharwa baingan,” the Gujarati “bharela ringan,” or maybe even “gutthi vankaya” as it is called in two of India’s southern states, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana? Of course, these will vary by region as each caters to its local spices, fillings, and cooking techniques, making it even more difficult. Moreover, it raises the question of my place as a white man from America to be “creating” a recipe for Indian food. I’m not saying this all to claim there is necessarily a “good” or “bad” way to go about something like this, but rather to shed light on the complexity of Indian food and culture as a whole, and to remind you to be mindful of the beauty and history of the foods you consume daily. I highly encourage you to seek out more information and recipes of these regional varieties if it interests you.
With all that said, I hope you enjoy my protein-packed “Stuffed Indian Eggplant.”
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients:
7-10 Indian eggplants
1 16-oz. block firm tofu, crumbled
1/2 cup neutral oil (e.g., peanut, canola, vegetable, etc.)
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
2 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
1/4 cup raw peanuts
Ginger, 2-inch piece
2 medium garlic cloves
1 green chili pepper (e.g., Korean green chili pepper)
1 red chili pepper (e.g., long hot red pepper)
1/2 cup cilantro, stems and leaves separated
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons red chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 large bay leaf
1 medium lime, juiced
Kosher salt
Instructions:
To prepare the tofu-masala filling:
Pound the peanuts, ginger, garlic, cilantro stems, coriander seeds, and some coarse Kosher salt (to act as an abrasive) in a mortar and pestle (Fig. 1) until the ingredients are mostly broken down and a thick paste forms (Fig. 2).
Transfer the paste to a separate large bowl, and mix in 1/4 cup of the neutral oil, along with the red chili powder, cumin powder, and turmeric powder (Fig. 3). Stir until thoroughly combined. Reserve half of the paste in a smaller bowl for later (Fig. 4).
Remove the tofu from its container and press out as much liquid from it as possible (optional: freeze and thaw the tofu beforehand or boil it in salted water for 3 minutes to extract excess liquid).
To the bowl containing the paste, crumble in the tofu with your hands and mix until thoroughly combined and the tofu has become a yellow-orange color. Season to taste with Kosher salt (Fig. 5).
Starting from the bottom of each eggplant, score down its length with a paring knife in an X-shaped pattern, stopping about 1 centimeter from the stem (Fig. 6).
Stuff each eggplant with the tofu-masala filling (Fig. 7).
Heat a large sauté pan with the remaining oil over medium-high heat, and once hot, add the mustard seeds (Fig. 8).
Once the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the bay leaf and cumin seeds. Temper all the spices together for about 30-60 seconds or until the cumin seeds start to turn golden brown (Fig. 9).
Add the diced red onion and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes (Fig. 10).
Add the diced Roma tomato, season with Kosher salt, and sauté until the oil begins to separate from the vegetables, about 3-5 minutes (Fig. 11). Then, add enough water to submerge the vegetables (Fig. 12).
Carefully place the eggplants in the pan with the stem side facing towards the middle (Fig. 13). Cover the pan with a lid, drop the heat to medium-low, and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes. The lid allows the evaporating water to cook the eggplants by steaming them. Additionally, lower heat ensures that the vegetables will not burn at the bottom of the pan.
After about 15 minutes, the eggplants should be thoroughly cooked (a knife should pass in and out of the eggplant easily), and the water should be completely evaporated with the masala reduced to a thicker consistency (Fig. 14).
Season with Kosher salt as needed, garnish with chopped cilantro and lime juice, and gently stir together all of the ingredients (Fig. 15).
Serve with warm roti/chapati and enjoy!
References
1. Caudill MA. Biochemical, physiological, and molecular aspects of human nutrition. Elsevier-Health Sciences Division; 2012.
2. Daunay MC, Janick J. History and iconography of eggplant. Chronica Horticulturae. 2007;47(3):16-22.
3. Gürbüz N, Uluişik S, Frary A, Frary A, Doğanlar S. Health benefits and bioactive compounds of eggplant. Food chemistry. 2018 Dec 1;268:602-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.06.093
4. Nisha P, Nazar PA, Jayamurthy P. A comparative study on antioxidant activities of different varieties of Solanum melongena. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2009 Oct 1;47(10):2640-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2009.07.026
