Stuffed Eggplant with Sesame Sauce:
4 tennis-ball sized eggplants (or slightly bigger)
100 grams of white sesame seeds
4 chilies
4 garlic pieces
1 Tablespoon of Poppy seed
2 medium sized white onion
1/4 Teaspoon of Turmeric
1 Teaspoon of chilipowder
1 Teaspoon of Coriander powder
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1/4 Teaspoon of Cinnamon powder
A hand full of cilantro leaves
Step One: Chop finely onions and fry them in a skillet with 1 table spoon of
vegetable oil until golden brown. Add the chili, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon
powders. Mix and fry them slightly till they begin to give off the pungent burnt
flavor. (Don't overdo it; the spices should not be charred.) Stop the heat and
add crushed garlic, cloves, crushed cardamom, bay leaves. Mix it while the
skillet cools down. Add salt to taste.
Step Two: Fry slightly sesame and poppy seeds in a skillet(no oil). Transfer
them to blender and grind them to coarse powder. The oil in the sesame seeds
will make the blend a bit pasty. At this moment, add the mix from the step one
and grate the mixture until it is well blended. Take the half of it and set
aside. To the other half add 2 cupsof water (~ 300 ml). Mix it in the blender
and transfer it to a steamer pot.
Step Three: Wash the eggplant and slit them from the bottom side up in four
cuts. Scoop out the inside to accomodate the sesame blend from the step two.
Secure the loose bottom with a couple of tooth picks or wooden skewers. Put them
in the steamer accessory and put it over the sesame sauce in the steamer pot.
Make sure that the eggplant never comes into contact with the sauce. Steam them
for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are tender.
Take the eggplants out carefully. Transfer the sauce from the steamer pot to a
sauce pan and concentrate to about 100 ml. Garnish the sauce with chopped
cilantro (coriander)leaves.
Serve the eggplant and pour the sauce over it.
This is a supreme dish and culinary experience it provides cannot simply be
described. Be mesmerized by it!