Spicy Rice Filled Eggplant Food

EXOTIC BRINJAL (SPICY EGGPLANT)

Steps:

• Heat the 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet, and fry eggplant pieces until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the skillet and set aside; wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.
• Heat the 6 tablespoons oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Stir in the cumin, fenugreek, kalonji, and sesame seeds, and cook until the cumin turns golden, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat; stir in the ginger and garlic, and cook for a few seconds. Stir in the onions and green chile pepper, and continue to cook and stir until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes.
• Stir the tomato puree, chili powder, coriander, turmeric, and salt into the onions. Cook and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until the oil separates. Stir in the cooked eggplant; cover and simmer until eggplant is tender, about 5 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk; stir until blended and heated through. Sprinkle with cilantro leaves.

EGGPLANT STUFFED WITH RICE AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Cut the eggplants in half. With a grapefruit spoon or a small knife, remove the flesh to within 1/2 inch of the skins.
• Sprinkle the eggplant shells with salt, and let sit for 30 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Chop the flesh, and steam for 20 minutes, until tender.
• In a large bowl, combine a third of the tomatoes, the steamed eggplant, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, all but 1 clove of the garlic, the rice, herbs and the juice of one of the lemons. Season with salt and pepper.
• Oil a large flameproof casserole or an earthenware casserole set over a flame tamer. Combine the remaining tomatoes, olive oil, allspice, cinnamon, lemon juice, sugar, tomato paste and remaining garlic in the casserole. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fill the eggplant shells with the rice mixture, and arrange in the casserole in a single layer. Add water if necessary to cover about a third of the eggplant. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, cover tightly and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 45 minutes to an hour until the eggplant and rice are tender. Remove from the heat.
• Using two spatulas (the eggplants are soft at this point), transfer the eggplants to a platter. Bring the sauce to a boil. If it is not already thick, reduce until thick and fragrant. Pour over the eggplants, and allow to cool to warm or room temperature. They're good chilled as well. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or cilantro if desired.

SPICY RICE-FILLED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°C
• Cook the rice in a large saucepan of boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Rinse under cold running water. Drain well.
• Meanwhile, cut the eggplants in half lengthways and use a small sharp knife to cut a 1cm border around the edge of each eggplant half then scoop out the flesh within the border, leaving about 1.5cm of flesh on the base of each eggplant half.
• Finely chop the flesh.
• Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add the onion and capsicum and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft.
• Add the garlic, coriander, ginger, chilli and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until aromatic.
• Add the chopped eggplant and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes or until eggplant is soft. Remove from heat.
• Add the rice, parsley, lemon rind and lemon juice to eggplant mixture, and stir to combine.
• Place eggplant shells in a large baking dish and spoon rice mixture evenly among eggplant shells.
• Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until eggplant shells are soft and filling is golden.
• Place the yoghurt and mint in a small serving bowl and stir to combine. Serve with spicy rice-filled eggplant.

SPICED LAMB-STUFFED EGGPLANTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, including the stems. Using a sharp paring knife, scoop out some of the flesh, leaving a shell that is 1/3 inch thick and reserving the scooped-out eggplant. Place the eggplant shells snugly in a single layer in a large (10-by-14-inch) rectangular baking dish. Brush the eggplant all over with 1/4 cup olive oil (use it all!) and sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour 1/4 cup water in the baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes, until the shells are tender when pierced with a small knife. Remove from the oven, discard the foil, and leave the oven on.
• Meanwhile, for the lamb filling, in a large (12-inch) skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until tender. Cut the reserved scooped-out eggplant into 1/2-inch dice (you should have about 2 cups). Add the eggplant to the onion and cook for 5 minutes, adding more oil if it seems dry. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the ground lamb and cook, mashing lightly with a fork, for 5 to 7 minutes, until no longer pink. Add the oregano and cinnamon and cook for one minute. Add the wine, tomatoes, marinara, parsley, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the liquid evaporates. Spoon the filling into the eggplant halves in the baking dish. (You may have a little extra filling.)
• In a medium bowl, mash the ricotta, goat cheese, egg yolks, mint, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper with a fork. With a spoon, place large dollops of the ricotta mixture on the lamb filling and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is hot and the topping is lightly browned. Serve warm, sprinkled with extra mint.

SPICY EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl; mix well.
• With a vegetable peeler, remove 1-inch strips of the eggplant skin, leaving a 1-inch strip of skin in between. Cut the eggplant into fourths lengthwise, then cut each section crosswise into 3-inch pieces.
• Pour enough oil into a 2-quart saucepan to fill 3 inches. Heat over medium heat to 350 degrees F. Deep-fry the eggplant batches until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels.
• Place wok over a high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of deep-frying oil and swirl to coat the sides. Add the garlic, ginger, dried chiles and green onion; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add ground meat and cook, breaking up pieces with back of a spoon, until brown and crumbly. Add the sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the cooked eggplant and stir to coat. Scoop onto a warm serving platter. Serve, garnished with cilantro or green onions.

TURKISH STUFFED EGGPLANT WITH SPICY LAMB AND RICE

Steps:

• Lamb and Rice Filling
• Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, then add the onion and pepper, stir, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and crumble in the ground meat. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, for 5-6 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and the mixture is starting to dry out and brown a little in the pan. Tilt the pan and spoon out any excess fat from the lamb. Sprinkle in the seasonings, stir, then add the tomatoes and puree, then the stock. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to dissolve the brown bits that have accumulated. Add the rice and herbs, and stir and cook a couple of minutes, until warmed through. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. When the filling is well mixed, moist, and flavorful-but not wet-remove it from the heat and let it cool.
• Eggplant
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Combine all the ingredients except the eggplants in a small bowl.
• Cut the stem end from each eggplant, then cut it in half lengthwise. Take a look at the flesh, and if it is creamy white and not too seedy, don't worry about salting it. However, if it is a little darker, with numerous seeds, there's a good chance the juices will be slightly bitter, so you'll want to extract them. To do this, sprinkle the cut sides with about a teaspoon of salt each and place them cut side down on a plate or tray lined with a double thickness of paper towels. Place another plate or tray on top and weight that with a couple of pounds (cans of beans work well). Set aside for 10-15 minutes, then remove the weight and brush the salt off the surface, or rinse with running water and pat dry. Cut a shallow crosshatch pattern in the cut surface of the eggplant and brush generously with the flavored oil. Place the eggplant halves cut sides up on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once, until the eggplants are very soft when you squeeze the sides and the surface is golden brown. Cool completely.
• To Assemble
• With your fingers or a spoon, press the tender eggplant flesh to the sides, making a bed for the filling. Divide the filling among the halves. Sprinkle the bread crumb topping evenly over the filling and pat it lightly. Bake the filled eggplants for about 15 minutes, or until they're heated through and the crumbs are browned.