Bharelu Shaak: Gujarati Style Stuffed Vegetables

Gujarati food is another unique cooking style in India. Majority of Gujaratis are vegetarians and their cuisine comprises of the simplest of ingredients, which combine to deliver a signature taste and texture. Gujaratis love their food. Maybe thats an understatement :) If you have ever visited a Gujarati family or a Gujju restaurant, you know. They are absolutely passionate about food! There is seldom a Gujju restaurant without a huge Thali spread, commonly unlimited. From their simplest kadhis (curd based dish, served with rice), to the multi flavored oondiyu (signature dish, mixed vegetables slow cooked with special spices), each dish can offer something new to the taste buds! Some of their preparations can come across a bit sweet (small amount of sugar added to enhance other flavors), if you are new to the cuisine. This is essentially true of the Kathiawadi (a region in Gujarat) style preparation. On the other hand, the Surati (another region) preparation is predominantly savory. While on the topic of Surati food, Surati Farsans (snacks... fried snacks) immediately come to mind! Jalebi (Indian Funnel cake) with Fafda (chick pea flour fritters) is a nostalgic brunch combination. Dhokla, Khandvi, Handvo, Patra ... all snack items!

Also, another interesting point to note is that Gujaratis are the #1 consumers of cooking oil in India! Thats what makes their food so irresistable I guess :) One of my favorite Gujju dishes is a stuffed vegetable preparation, which very suprisingly is NOT deep fried! More surprisingly, inspite of being non-deep fried, it is one of Hubbie's favorites too. Just bring up this recipe, and you will undoubtedly hear him rave about how well his grandmother makes this and sigh in foodie nostalgia! I suspect it is one of his favorite childhood memories.

Indian food bloggers have blogged about varieties of stuffed eggplant... Andhra, Maharashtrian and modern-deconstructed version. Here is another variety - stuffed Eggplant, Baby Potatoes and Onion. Kanda-Batata-Ringana Nu Bhareli Shaak (Onion-Potato-Brinjal stuffed Curry)

The trick here is in choosing the vegetable and stuffing it. Choose small baby purple brinjals, baby potatoes and small red onions. Usually you would make a plus shaped cut to stuff the vegetables. But stuffing them can be a gentle art, especially frustrating for stuffing onion. Here is are some stuffing tips directly from Hubbie's favorite chef (his grandmother)
Onion - Trim the tips, peel and wash
Potato - Peel and Wash
Brinjal - Wash and trim the stalks.

Hold each vegetable vertically and make a diagonal slit, 3/4 into the vegetable. Then turn it upside down and make a similar slit on the opposite diagonal. Instead of the cross cut of the same side, you have the two slits on the opposite ends. This enables easier and more abundant stuffing. Now here the the details of the recipe

Clockwise from left Potato, brinjal and Onion

Stuffed Onion Potato and Brinjal	Serves 2
2 small red onions 4 small brinjals 4 small potatoes	Peel/wash and make slits on the vegetables as described above
1.5 tbsp chickpea flour 2 tbsp coriander powder 1 tbsp cumin powder 1 tsp red chili powder 1 tsp garam masala 2 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar juice of one lemon 2 tbsp minced coriander leaves 2 tbsp oil	Mix all these ingredients until they form a coarse lumpy texture. Stuff generously on both slits of the vegetables. Place the vegetables in a steamer basket and steam for about 20-30 mins or until a knife goes through gently into the potatoes.
1 tbsp oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 2 tsp cumin seeds	Heat oil in a large (wide) non stick pan, add the seeds and allow to sputter. carefully drop the steamed vegetables. Toss them around in the oil being careful. Avoid using a ladle and just shake the pan gently to move the vegetables around for 2-3 minutes.

This preparation goes best with juwar rotli. An excellent guide to the delectable rotlis can be found at the Cook's Cottage. Here is what my attempt at the rotlis looked like.
Wam, fluffy rotis also make a great accompaniment to the stuffed veggies.