Stuffed Baby Eggplants in a Creamy Tomato Dill Sauce

INGREDIENTS
Purple baby eggplants, Cumin seeds, Chana dal, Urad dal, Coriander seeds, Whole black pepper, Dry red chilies, Dill seeds, Whole cloves, Peanuts, Potatoes, Fresh Dill, Lemon juice, Sugar, Ripe red tomatoes, Turmeric powder, Red chili powder, Cumin-Coriander powder, Garam Masala, Tandoori masala, Aamchur powder, Fresh cream, Corn kernels.

RECIPE
1. Toast ¼ cup of peanuts in a pan, cool and take off the skin. Keep aside.
2. Lightly toast the following spices in a tsp of oil:
[2 tsps of cumin seeds + 4 tbsps of chana dal + 3 tbsps of urad dal + 4 tbsps of coriander seeds + 4 dry red chilies (more if you need it spicy ) + 1 tsp of whole black pepper + 1 tsp of cloves].  Roast till the dals get light brown and cool. Blend all the above spices and the cooled peanuts in a spice grinder into a chunky powder.
3. Boil 2 baking potatoes and peel and mash.
4. Chop 3 tbsps of fresh dill.
5. Stuffing: In a large mixing bowl, add the peanuts-spice mix, mashed potatoes and fresh dill. Zest a whole lemon and squeeze the juice into the mixture. Add a tsp of sugar, salt to taste and mix well with a fork. Cover and keep aside.
6. Wash and de-stem 15 baby eggplants. Slit them cross-wise but not split them entirely. Stuff the eggplants with the mixture above (take care to not over stuff them).
7. In a large flat bottomed pan, heat 5 tbsps of oil. Swirl it around to ensure that the bottom of the pan is well coated with oil. Gently arrange the eggplant and ensure that they do not overlap (If your pan is small, do this in batches). Reduce the heat to medium high and let them cook. After about 8-9 minutes, turn the eggplants gently, add a little more oil and allow them to rest. Repeat the process till you see the eggplants softening. Insert a toothpick to check if they are cooked. When they are almost done. Cover them with a lid and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow them to rest with the lid on.
8. Boil water in a large deep pot. Wash and add 8 really ripe tomatoes into the water. Reduce the heat to medium high and allow to boil for 10 minutes. The tomatoes will start to split. With a slotted spoon, pick out the tomatoes and peel the skin off. Blend the tomatoes to a chunky paste. Reserve the water.
9. Heat oil in a pan and add 1 tsp each of cumin and dill seeds. When they start to splutter, reduce the heat and add the pureed tomatoes.
10. Add 2 tsps of red chili powder, ½ tsp of turmeric powder, 2 tbsps of cumin-coriander powder, 1.5 tbsps of garam masala, ½ tsp of tandoori masala and salt to taste. Mix everything well, reduce the heat, cover and allow the spices to meld with the tomatoes. When the oil starts to separate from the spices, uncover and add a 1 cup of the water that the tomatoes were stewed in.
11. Add ½ cup of fresh cream and ½ cup of thawed frozen corn.
12. Mix everything and cook for a couple of minutes.
13. Serving: Just before serving, pour the sauce into a deep dish. Gently place the cooked baby eggplants on the sauce.
14. Garnish with finely chopped fresh dill and serve hot with phulkas!

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