Serve with hot phulka rotli and a simple onion and tomato salad. A glass of salted Chaas (buttermilk drink) if you’re feeling fancy.

Why is it that vegetables are always better when you stuff them? This stuffed eggplant recipe is no exception.

My mother’s recipe for Ravaiya

Ask any Gujarati and they’ll rave about their mum or gran’s version. It’s in our nature. And believe us, we’re telling the truth. There is no love greater than the love you feel when you eat these baby aubergines.

You must stuff each one by hand. It’s messy, fun and a labour of love. Their flavour is amplified by the effort and time it takes to prepare them. It’s the taste of a mother’s devotion to her family.

This is my mother’s recipe for Gujarati Ravaiya. I make the same one for my son now. He calls them “oh-ber-jean”.

Childhood memories of this Gujarati curry

To tell you the truth, I used to hate aubergines. I thought they were slimy and seedy. As a child, I wanted nothing more than to hide them under my brother’s mattress for the time he put Cherry Tunes in my hair whilst I was asleep.

When I woke up, my mum had to cut a chunk of my waist-length hair out and I cried.

How to make Gujarati Ravaiya (Stuffed Aubergine Curry)

Traditionally, the aubergines are served as they are, sometimes with a tomato sauce, sometimes without.

My mother has always made these “bharela ravaiya” or “bharela ringan” with a luscious tomato sauce. However, my mother-in-law comes from the Patel community and prefers to serve them without a tomato sauce.

Both ways are delicious in my opinion. Just pass me the rotli.

Gujarati Ravaiya: Tips & FAQ

What kind of aubergines (ringan) should I use for Ravaiya?

Choose firm, small aubergines (ringan/eggplants). They can be any colour and either short and fat or long and thin. My preference are the small, fat purple ones. However, I advise you to choose the best quality you can find.

What stuffing do you put in Gujarati Ravaiya?

Ingredients for the stuffing will differ from recipe to recipe. Indeed, all families have their own unique style and preferences. My recipe for Ravaiya stuffing includes:

• Peanuts
• Toasted chickpea flour (gram flour/besan)
• Ground coriander seeds
• Ground cumin seeds
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Red chilli powder
• Asafoetida
• Fresh coriander
• Tomato ketchup (yes, really! Don’t skip it.)
• Salt
• Sugar
• Oil
• Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Should I add potatoes or not?

Lots of people like to add a few stuffed spuds to their curry. I’m not going to tell you which way is better, or more traditional. If you like potatoes, go ahead and add them. Don’t be shy, get your carb on.

What else can I stuff with this Ravaiya masala?

Aubergines not your thing? Use the stuffing masala from this recipe to fill onions, okra, sweet potatoes, chillies, capsicums, Brussel’s sprouts or skin-on bananas (I’m serious).

So in short, you can customise this recipe to suit you. I like to do a version with all of them for special occasions.

Some of my favourite stuffed Gujarati curries include:

• Bharela Marcha (Stuffed Bullet Chillies)
• Karela na Raviya (Stuffed Bitter Melon)
• Bharelu Turiya nu Shaak (Stuffed Ridge Gourd)
• Bharela Kanda nu Shaak (Stuffed Onion)

I hope to share recipes for all of these delicious Gujarati shaaks in time. Keep your eyes (and your onions) peeled!

Recipe for Gujarati Ravaiya (Stuffed Aubergine Curry)

Print

Gujarati Ravaiya (Stuffed Aubergine Curry)

Ask any Gujarati and they’ll rave about their mum or gran’s Ravaiya (stuffed aubergine curry). It’s in our nature. There is no love greater than the love you feel when you eat these hand-stuffed baby aubergines.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword aubergine, curry, gluten free, peanut, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Equipment

• Steaming basket
• Large pan

Ingredients

• 8-10 baby aubergines

For the peanut stuffing:

• 85 g skinned peanuts coarsely ground
• 2 tbsp gram flour toasted in a dry pan until aromatic and lightly golden
• 1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp ground cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida (check the packaging if preparing for anyone with a gluten allergy/intolerance)
• 4 large cloves garlic crushed
• 2 tsp ginger grated
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• 50 g fresh coriander finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp any cooking oil
• 1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 tbsp any cooking oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp asafoetida
• 200 g chopped tomatoes
• 200 ml water
• 5-6 curry leaves optional
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• Chopped red onion to serve
• Fresh coriander leaves to serve

Instructions

• Combine all of the ingredients for the stuffing except for the oil in a bowl.
• Heat three tablespoons of oil in a small saucepan until hot and shimmering. Slowly and carefully pour the oil onto the peanut mix and stir to combine well. Set aside to cool.
• Trim the tops of the aubergines. I like to leave a little stalk for pretty presentation. Slit the aubergines crosswise from the bottom, almost all the way through, leaving the stalk area uncut. Place the aubergines in a bowl filled with cold water to stop them oxidising inside and to keep them perky.
• Stuff each aubergine with the peanut masala – don’t be afraid to use clean hands to do this; just get right in there. You should have a little bit of the stuffing left over – keep it aside. If you don’t want to use your hands, you can use a butter knife to stuff them.
• Fit a large pan with a steaming basket. Place the aubergines in the basket and fill the pan with plenty of hot water. Ensure the bottom of the steamer doesn’t touch the water. Cover with a lid and cook over a moderate heat for 12-14 minutes, until the aubergines are tender. A fork should poke through without any resistance.
• Meanwhile, to make the sauce, heat one tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan. Add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop. Add the cumin seeds, asafoetida, optional curry leaves and leftover stuffing paste. Cook the mixture out for 2 minutes and then add the tomatoes, water, turmeric, chilli powder, salt and sugar. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring all the time. The mixture should begin to thicken slightly.
• Add the steamed aubergines and cover with the paste. Be careful not to break them. Cook for a further 2 minutes to heat through. Garnish with fresh coriander if you like. Serve with phulka/roti and chopped red onions.

Video

Notes

• Store any leftovers in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.

How to freeze Ravaiya

• These Ravaiya (stuffed aubergines) freeze beautifully. My preference is to freeze the steamed aubergines in a freezer-safe container and then make the sauce when I want to serve the curry. Just place the defrosted Ravaiya in the sauce and heat through until piping hot.
• You can also make the stuffing ahead of time and keep it in the freezer for when you fancy this dish. It’s also great for stuffing other vegetables like potatoes, okra, chillies and onions.

Pin this recipe for later!

Other everyday curry recipes you might like

30-Minute Tindora Curry with Corn

Tindora Curry with Corn is a simple, dry-style curry of tindora (ivy gourd) and sweetcorn. It's light, fresh and quick to prepare. Serve this weeknight vegetable dish with roti, phulka, paratha or rice. If you can't find tindora, try it with courgette cut to the same size.

Check out this recipe

Gujarati-Style Okra & Potatoes

Gujarati-Style Okra & Potatoes (Bhinda Bateta nu Shaak) is an everyday comfort food in many Gujarati homes, including mine. It’s usually scooped up with soft, hot rotlis (chapattis), which is our daily bread. This curry is delicately flavoured with cumin seeds, turmeric, garlic and lemon juice for a fresh vegan dish that eats more like a stir fry than the heavy restaurant curries one might be used to.

Check out this recipe

Gujarati Koru Bateta nu Shaak

A tried and true recipe for Koru Bateta nu Shaak (Gujarati-style dry potato curry). This is my mother's exact recipe and the only way we make it at home. She has a few fabulous tips for achieving intense flavours and the perfect dry bhaji-style texture every time. This shaak pairs perfectly with Masala Poori and dahi (plain yoghurt).

Check out this recipe

Love Sanjana

The post Gujarati Ravaiya (Stuffed Aubergine Curry) appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Graduation was fantastic! Thank you for all of the congratulations and good luck wishes you left for me. As always, your support is invaluable. Time to start a fresh, new chapter of my life, and the only way to fire up such chapters is with fresh, innovative food.

This dish combines firm field beans with a creamy, clean tasting yogurt sauce. Perfect for those who like subtly spiced dishes or those who simply fancy a change from heavily perfumed concoctions.

You can buy field beans from all good Indian grocery or health food shops; they can be found fresh, dried and frozen so keep your beans eyes peeled. Their texture is best described as a cross between white soya beans and cannellini beans. Delicious in soups and stews, they are more popularly added to curries in Gujarati cuisine. The famous young field bean (whole) and aubergine curry (vaalore ringdra) is evidence of its popularity; it has dominated wedding menus for years. And I ain’t gonna question that!

Vaal- Mature field beans with the pod removed
Valore- Young field beans (the whole pod, including the beans inside)

Enjoy this with hot chapattis, steamed brown rice, a crisp green salad and a fresh take on life.

Fresh Field Beans (Vaal) in a Peanut and Yogurt Sauce
(Serves 4)

4 cups fresh vaal, boiled in salted water (with a pinch of baking powder) then rinsed under cold water
½ cup peanuts, ground
½ cup chickpea flour
½ cup yogurt
5 cups cold water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
2 hot green chillies, minced
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
¼ tsp asafoetida
1 red chilli, halved lengthways
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ cup fresh coriander, chopped
Salt to taste

Method

1. Mix together the yogurt, water, ground peanuts and chickpea flour until smooth.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop. Add the asafoetida, garlic, both types of chilli and ginger. Sauté briefly, then add the yogurt mixture. Stir this continuously until it reaches boiling point.

3. Add the turmeric, salt and cooked vaal. Allow to simmer for around 5 minutes and finally stir in the chopped coriander.

The post Fresh Field Beans (Vaal) in a Peanut and Yogurt Sauce appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

This is vegan. Just had to mention that shocking fact as this is by far one of the creamiest, richest, most delicious dishes I have ever tasted.

Having recently posted the Gujarati-inspired African dish Hot and Sour Tamarind Cassava, I have decided to share a little more of these rare combinations with you. Note: I’m currently considering coining this sort of food under the term ‘Gujafrican’ cuisine- pretty accurate if you ask me. These recipes have been simmering in the karahis my family of cooks for year upon years, and now everyone loves a little cassava, sour mango, coconut milk and other delicious East African ingredients. Gujafrican cuisine is light, moreish and perfect for long summer evenings. Let me warn you, once you start cooking these dishes they will leave an everlasting impression upon your tastebuds, which you will never forget.

This recipe uses no onions or garlic, and so the dish is flavoured using alternative aromatic spices. Sweetcorn and cumin are like bride and groom; they hold hands, dance, and totally love each other, so in this recipe we are never shy with the cumin. The subtle, heady aroma of coriander seed is another spice which pairs well with the gentle warmth brought by the cumin seeds, and the sweet freshness of the corn. Other than that, very little of other spices are used to make Kasodi (the Ugandan word for sweetcorn). However, don’t underestimate the deliciousness of this dish, no- that would be a serious mistake.

You don’t have to just stick to sweetcorn either- you can add anything you like. A few suggestions would be potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, butternut squash, tofu, or anything else you happen to have in the fridge. You can serve Kasodi with naan, chapattis, paratha, rice, or my favourite way- with a spoon and a glass of salted lassi. This is not to say that you won’t need to use your hands. The pieces of corn on the cob ensure your mitts will certainly get messy. Although, when food tastes this good… Who cares?

Ingerdients
(serves 6)

1 cup redskin peanuts, roasted, skins removed and coarsely ground
600g corn on the cob, cooked and cut into 1 inch pieces
5 medium hot green chillies, minced (or to taste)
1 ½ tbsp ginger
1 ½ cups sweetcorn off the cob (I used tinned)
1 ¼ cups passata
1 ½ cups coconut milk
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp asafoetida (optional)
2 tsp coriander seed powder
¼ tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
¼ cup fresh coriander, chopped

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds, asafoetida, chillies, ginger, passata and ground peanuts. Cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

2. Add the coconut milk, turmeric and coriander seed powder and allow to simmer for around 10 minutes. Keep stirring to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

3. Add the corn on the cob, tinned sweetcorn and salt. Simmer for another 10 minutes (keep stirring) and then finally stir in the fresh coriander. Garnish with extra chilli and toasted cumin if you wish.

The post Kasodi- Ugandan Sweetcorn Cobs in a Peanut and Coconut Sauce appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Let me introduce you to the most wonderful breakfast/brunch/lunch in the whole entire world. Well, almost. Not counting ice cream. Ice cream IS a breakfast item, right?

Poha (pronounced: puhwa) are cooked, flattened and dehydrated grains of basmati rice. You can find them in most Indian grocery stores packed in regular plastic bags. The bateta part is cubed, deep fried potatoes, but you probably worked that one out already; bateta-potato-bateta-potato-bateta-potato. They do sound similar.

The ingredients in this dish vary from region to region and family to family. I’m making a classic Gujarati version, which of course must be like all Gujarati dishes are: hot, sweet and sour. This dish is very forgiving, so if you want to omit certain ingredients like onions or not add too much chilli then that’s totally up to you. At home we add plenty of peanuts and cashews to bulk the dish up for a more filling meal. If you’re ever stuck for making something for a large amount of people then this is the perfect recipe. You can make a huge amount in one go and feed an army of hungry people.

Bateta poha is great with plain yogurt and a cup of chai, but if you’re feeling a bit fruity then try out a variation with some pomegranate seeds and/or soaked sultanas.

Ingredients

2 tbsp sunflower oil
¾ cup onions, chopped finely
2 tsp cumin seeds
4 medium hot green chillies (more or less according to your taste)
1 tbsp ginger, minced
¼ tsp asafoetida (optional)
1/3 cup mixed nuts of your choice (I used redskin peanuts and cashews)
1 tsp turmeric
8-10 curry leaves
2 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups poha (flattened rice)
2 tsp sugar (or to taste)
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp fennel powder (optional- I like fennel powder)
5 cups half-boiled water
¼ cup chopped coriander

Enough sunflower oil to deep fry

Method

1. Place the poha in a small-holed colander and pour on the half-boiled water. Set aside.

2. Wash and dry the cubed potatoes, then deep fry in sunflower oil until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan and add the chopped onions, ginger, nuts and chilli. Cook until aromatic and the nuts are golden. Do not let it turn too brown.

4. Add the cumin seeds, turmeric, asafoetida and curry leaves. Sauté for 30 seconds. Add the fennel powder and the potatoes and mix carefully and thoroughly.

5. Separate the now cooled poha grains gently with a fork and add to the pan. Season with salt, sugar, lemon and pepper. Gently toss in the pan and remove from the heat. Garnish with chopped coriander.

6. Serve to hungry friends and family only if you’ve managed to refrain from scoffing the whole lot after cooking.

Don’t wait for me. Just dig in.

The post Gimme, Gimme Bateta Poha appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.