Rhengan Reveya

 Rhengan Reveya (Baby Aubergine and Potato Satay, rustic food from Gujarat)

Serves: 4-6
Recipe Level: Basic/Beginner to Medium
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads or with flavoured/steam cooked Rice

---

Ingredients:
8-10 Baby Purple Eggplants, washed, dried
8-10 Baby Potatoes or 2 medium Potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

For Tadka/Tempering:
½ tbsp Oil
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida

For the Stuffing & Marinating:
1/3 cup Roasted Peanuts, ground to fine powder
¾-1 tbsp Roasted Coriander Powder
½-¾ tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1-1½ tsp Red Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder (Optional)
1-2 tsp Sugar
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida (Optional)
1 inch Ginger, peeled and grated
3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Rhengan Reveya

Method:

Grind roasted peanuts to fine powder and transfer it into a mixing bowl.

Mix in all dry spice powders one by one.

Next add grated ginger, finely chopped coriander leaves, salt to taste and oil and mix them well. You will get a crumbling mixture. Keep it aside till needed.

Make ‘+’ marked slits ¾th way on baby eggplants keeping their stems intact. Stuff the eggplants with prepared mixture. Make sure that you don’t break the eggplants while stuffing.

Once you have stuffed all the eggplants with mixture, add chopped potatoes to remaining stuffing and mix well so that potatoes are coated well.

Mix eggplants with potatoes and keep them aside to marinate for 5-10 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and hing. When cumin starts to sizzle and turn golden red, mix in stuffed eggplants and potatoes.

Add about 1-1½ cups of boiling water and cover the lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook undisturbed for 5 mins.

Open the lid after 5 mins and gentle mix all the vegetables. Add little more water if needed and cover and cook again for 10-15 minutes, mixing in between, till both eggplants and potatoes are cooked though.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve with steam cooked rice or Roties and enjoy this rustic, delicious Rhengan Reveya.

Baked tomato-ey gnocchi

Ingredients:

1 16 ounce package uncooked, potato gnocchi

Olive oil

1 medium white onion, diced

12 ounces sausage, diced or casing removed

4 cloves garlic, grated

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning or just oregano

1/2 cup pureed canned or fresh tomato

½ cup water

Salt

Black pepper

2 zucchini, diced 

1 cup frozen corn 

2 (packed) cups baby spinach, roughly chopped

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese or 8oz mozzarella thick slices 

Basil leaves, for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

In an oven safe heavy bottom pan over medium heat drizzle in about 3 to 4 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Add in the diced white or yellow onion and saute for just a few minutes until softened, then add in the sausage, and using a wooden spoon or spatula, break it up a bit into a crumble. Saute together with the onion until the sausage is cooked through, about 4 or 5 minutes.

Next, add in the garlic, the Italian seasoning/oregano, and the red pepper flakes (if using), and stir to combine.

Once aromatic, add in the zucchini and corn and saute for 3-5 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes along with the water, and stir to incorporate.

Allow to a simmer for just a couple of minutes, then turn off the heat and sprinkle in a couple of generous pinches of salt and black pepper (to taste), and stir in ¼ cup of the grated parmesan cheese.

Add the spinach and the uncooked potato gnocchi to the pan, and carefully fold the spinach and gnocchi into the sauce until well coated and combined, evening out the top a bit.

Next, sprinkle over top the rest of the parmesan cheese, followed by the mozzarella cheese. Place the gnocchi into the oven to bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden-brown.

Instantpot Chole

Ingredients: 

Dry Chickpeas 1 cup (wash and soak for 4+ hours) 

Ajwain 1/2 tsp

Baking soda 1 pinch

Salt to taste

Garlic 5 pods, grated 

Ginger 2 tbsp, grated 

Cumin seeds, 1 tsp

Red chili powder 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder 1 tbsp

Chole masala 1 tbsp

Amchur powder 1/2 tsp

Steps:

1. Pressure cook chickpeas:

Pour water into instantpot base upto the 2 cup marking.

Take another steel vessel that fits inside the instantpot. Add the washed and soaked chickpeas and enough water to cover it fully, plus a little more.

Add ajwain, baking soda and salt.

On the instantpot press "manual", level "normal", for time press "+" until it gets to 60 minutes. 

Put the lid on and set to "sealing".

2. Make the tadka 

In a small pan heat oil, add cumin seeds. 

When they sizzle add grated ginger and garlic, red chilli powder, coriander powder, chole masala and amchur powder.

Saute until well mixed and the raw smell of ginger and garlic is dissipated.

3. Mix them

Pull the container with chickpeas out of the instantpot after natural pressure release.

Take aside a quarter of the cooked chickpeas and blend it using a mixer or hand blender.

Add the spices paste and mashed chickpeas back into the pot. Put it on the gas.

Add more water as needed, and mix it all together and heat up to create a gravy.