Eggplant Ravaiya – Ringan na Ravaiya
Ravaiya is the name of a traditional authentic Gujarati dish, made from stuffing whole baby eggplants and cooking them. The spicy, nutty, coarse spice paste made from peanuts, chickpea flour, and lots of garlic and dry spices is stuffed inside an eggplant.
There are other vegetables that we can use to make Ravaiya like potatoes, onions, okra, bitter gourd etc. Eggplants are called Ringan in Gujarati language.
As the eggplant cooks, this nutty sauce also cooks along making it into this delicious sauce. One of the best dishes you can make for vegans or vegetarians. The best way to enjoy this dish is to have it with rotis or parathas. While growing up, we underestimated Indian cuisine and its beauty. A lot of people are going to love it if we make this and serve it these days. This dish uplifts a humble and easily available vegetable like eggplant.
Something my mom reminded me of apparently in India, eggplants are available and popular during winter months, . Eating eggplants during winter months is preferred as they have natural warmth to them. It only applies to us if we follow such intricate nuances of eating right foods.
Although, these stuffed eggplants can be prepared on stove top, pressure cooker or instant pot. I want to try making them in the oven one day, and test out. Let’s talk about consistency of the dish.
Even though, I personally prefer semi dry consistency of the sauce. Some people like making it completely dry too. Some a little extra saucy. So, it totally depends on personal preference. Nevertheless, it taste good. You want to make sure; the eggplants are cooked through.
As you know in India home to home, or state to state there are so many variations. Apparently, there are many versions of this dish, , so this is how my mom makes it. Some versions use ganthiya in their stuffing, some use coconut along with peanuts and some use finely chopped onions.
Another version, I love is the Gutti Vankaya or Hyderabadi style stuffed eggplants they are made in coconut sauce and have slight sourness from tamarind.
If you like eggplants then try this simple dish!
Eggplant Ravaiya
Ingredients
- 8 baby eggplants
Stuffing
- 1 cup roasted peanuts coarsely ground
- 4 tbsp oil neutral, divided
- 3 tbsp chickpea flour
- 3-4 cloves garlic grated
- 1 ½ tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tbsp sugar
- cilantro garnish
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients of the stuffing and 2 tbsp of oil. Give it a good mix. If you are not using ground roasted peanuts, then you can make the stuffing in a food processor while grinding the peanuts. Set the mixture aside.
- Put slits in the eggplants on the bottom part about ¾ all the way and keep the stem intact. This is where we will stuff the eggplants. Repeat and make 4 slits in the rest of the eggplants.
- Take the stuffing and fill the eggplants enough to fill the space. Reserve the peanut mixture that’s left over.
- Take 2 tbsp oil in a preheated pan. Place the stuffed eggplants in a single layer in the pan, preferably with a lid. Cook the eggplants until they are halfway tender. Add ¼ cup water to them so that they do not burn. Cover the lid and cook. Once a while, keep stirring them to make sure they are not sticking and cooking on all sides. Add the rest of the leftover peanut mixture and cook the mixture until they are perfectly cooked but still intact. To test if the eggplants are cooked just poke them with a knife or fork.
- Keep the consistency to your liking. Add cilantro and once cooked, serve it with hot rotis.