Lamb Stuffed Eggplant

As promised, here's another Indian recipe from my Christmas gift cookbook. Today I'm sharing lamb stuffed eggplant. It's pretty easy and extremely delicious which means it's an impressive but low-maintenance dish for a dinner party. It's also really yummy when it's heated up and eaten the next day, so leftovers won't go to waste. And it's a recipe that can be adjusted to your tastes and dietary restrictions so hooray.

Ingredients [serves 4]
4 baby eggplants
vegetable or canola oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 plum tomatoes, seeded, squeezed, and chopped
1 bell pepper (or a handful of baby bell peppers), seeded and chopped
1 lb ground lamb (or you could substitute ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, ground pork, or even crumbled tofu if you are a vegetarian)
2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
**optional: hot chili pepper for some added spice

First, start by prepping the spices and the vegetables. Measure out the garlic, ginger, ground coriander, chili powder, and turmeric in a bowl. Then chop up the onions, bell peppers, chili (if you are using one), and tomatoes.

In a large skillet, heat up enough oil to coat the pan. Add onions and let them saute until they are translucent and slightly browned. Add in the spices and stir to coat. Plop in the ground lamb (or whatever protein you choose) and break up with the spoon to incorporate. Let this mixture cook for a few minutes until browned and then add in the peppers and tomato. Stir to combine and let cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Remove from the heat and sprinkle in some chopped cilantro.

To prepare the eggplant (which should be rinsed and dried), slice in half lengthwise. Then, use a sharp knife to score around the edge and scoop out flesh to make a vessel for the filling. This is also a good time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the eggplant on a baking sheet and brush the insides with a bit of oil. Then spoon in the lamb mixture.

Once the eggplants are all stuffed, place in the oven. If you have leftover filling, stay tuned for tomorrow's recipe, where I'll be sharing a samosa dish.

The eggplant should bake for about 30 minutes or until they are tender and the edges are browned.

Serve warm with rice (which I'll be sharing later this week) and whatever else you like.

It should be so tender, you can cut through it with a fork. So delicious! I hope you try this recipe soon.

Here's the recipe page: