Stuffed baby Eggplant/ long eggplant ( Baked Dish)

Ingredients – 12-14 small Japanese eggplants

 For the stuffing

 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

2 tablespoon ground coriander

2 tablespoons ground cumin

½ teaspoon salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp ground turmeric

2 teaspoons sugar

¼ tsp garam masala

1 tablespoon peanuts roughly crushed

1 tablespoon gram flour

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

For the sauce

2 tablespoons oil

½ teaspoon black mustard seeds

14 ounce can chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2/3 cup water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make slits in the eggplant but take care not to cut all the way through.

Mix all the ingredients for the stuffing together on a plate.

Carefully stuff the eggplants with the spice mixture

Place the eggplants in a greased casserole

Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the mustard seeds for 2 minutes till they begin to sputter, and then add the tomatoes, cilantro and any other leftover stuffing together with the water.

Simmer for 5 minutes till the sauce thickens.

Pour the sauce over the eggplants. Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes till the eggplant is soft. Garnish with cilantro