Bharli Vangi | Baby Eggplant Curry Recipe

Bharli Vangi | Baby Eggplant Curry Recipe

Bharli Vangi is a baby eggplant recipe cooked in vegan peanut sauce stir fry. It's a spicy and flavorful dish from Maharashtrian cuisine. Make this Asian vegan curry in just 30 minutes!

Course entree, Main Course

Cuisine Indian, Maharashtrian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Servings people

Calories 332.73kcal

Author Priya Lakshminarayan

Equipment

Ingredients

To prep the masala

½ cup roasted peanuts
2 tablespoon Ghoda masala or Ghaati masala
1 teaspoon turmeric powder

To prep the eggplants

16 baby eggplants

To prepare the curry

2 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
10 cloves garlic minced
8-10 curry leaves
2 cups water
salt
¼ cup cilantro chopped

Instructions

To prep the stuffing masala

Add peanuts to a blender jar.
Add goda masala.
Then add the turmeric powder.
Crush the peanuts coarsely. Do not grind it fine.

To prep the Baby Eggplants

Wash the small eggplants well.
Slit the base into a plus sign like shown in the pic. Do not slit it all the way through. You can leave the crown top as-is or cut it off. Chef tip - Place the slit eggplants in a bowl of salt + water if you are not going to use them immediately. This prevents them from blackening.

To prepare the Baby Eggplant Curry

Stuff them with the prepared peanut masala.
Heat oil in a pan, temper mustard seeds, and once they begin to crackle, add the curry leaves. Fry for 30 seconds.
Add the minced garlic and fry till they turn light golden.
Then add the small eggplants to the pan along with salt. Give it a mix and cook for 2 minutes.
Now, add the remaining ground masala to the pan along with water, mix and cover the pan. Adjust the water depending on the consistency you prefer.
Cook on simmer for 10 minutes. Keep stirring at regular intervals. Once the gravy thickens and the eggplants are cooked, garnish it with chopped cilantro and it's done! Serve with any flatbread or rice.

Notes

Roast the dry peanuts first and then coarsely grind them. That gives the curry more flavor. Or simply buy roasted unsalted peanuts from the store.

While baby eggplants are best suited for this vegan fry recipe, you can make it with any eggplant variety. If using other varieties, just roughly chop them and use them.

The consistency of this easy peanut sauce stir fry is based on personal preference so add water accordingly. I like it thick and creamy but you can thin it down too.

Nutrition