Bagara Baingan

Ingredients:

Indian eggplant/ brinjal: 5-6
Onion: 2 (finely chopped)
Tomatoes: 2 (finely chopped)
Peanuts: 1 cup
Dhaniya seeds: 1/2 cup
Garam masala: 1 table spoon
Cinnamon: 1 piece
Cardamom: 2-3
Bay leaves: 2
Cloves: 4-5
Ginder: 1 table spoon (grated)
Garlic: 1/2 clove
Asafoetida: 1 tinge
Tamarind: Lemon size
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Red chilli powder: 1 tea spoon
Gingelly oil: 1 cup
Salt to taste and curry leaves.

Method:

Step1: Take a large pan add heat 3 table spoons of gingelly oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and let the mustard seeds splutter.
Step2: Add ginger garlic paste, cinnamon sticks, cardomom, crushed bay leaves, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and finely chopped onions. Now addd salt so that it absorbs all the moisture from onion.
Step3: Once the onion turns transparent, add tomatoes and mix well. Close the pan and let the tomatoes turn mushy.
Step4: In another pan dry roast peanuts, red chillis, chana dhal, dhaniya seeds. Let it cool down and grind them into a coarse/fine powder.
Step5: Heat 4 table spoons of oil in the same pan. Slit brinjals (longitude wise) into 4 with edges still attached. Fry them in oil and set it aside.
Step6: Add the mixture to the tomato onion paste and mix well. Let the raw smell of the masala fade. Add garam msala and mix well. Soak tamarind in lukewarm water for 15 minutes. Filter and add tamarind juice to the mixture.
Step7: Now add fried brinjal to this mixture and let it boil for 15-20 minutes until the masala is well absorbed by the brinjals.
Serve hot. Goes well with plain rice :)