Ingredients: Brinjal (Baingan / Eggplant) - cut into three long slices, and Pepper - to taste, Virgin Olive Oil - for cooking, cup Parmesan cheese, Leaves (Pudina) - for garnish, Carrot (Gajjar) - finely chopped, cup Masoor Dal (Whole) - soaked for 2 hours, cloves Garlic, teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera), Lemon - juice from it, - to taste, tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Onion - finely chopped, cloves Garlic - finely chopped, tablespoon Butter, Walnuts, Badam (Almond), teaspoon Red Chilli flakes, teaspoons Dried oregano, teaspoon Paprika powder, teaspoon Sugar, - to taste, cup Hung Curd (Greek Yogurt), cloves Garlic - minced, Lemon juice, Vegetarian diet
Instructions: To begin making the Baked Eggplant with Red Lentil Hummus Recipe, the first step is to make the red lentil hummus filling. Ensure the masoor dal is soaked for at least couple of hours. This helps in faster cooking of the red lentil.Pressure cook the soaked masoor dal with 1 cup of water and pressure cook for at least 5 to 6 whistles. Once done, allow the pressure to release naturally.Once the pressure releases, drain out any excess water and keep aside. We can use this water to adjust the consistency of the red lentil hummus later.Cut eggplant lengthwise in half. Scoop out centres flesh of the eggplant, leaving 1/4-inch-thick pulp around the shell.Sprinkle salt and pepper on the eggplant shell and keep it aside in a colander. This will moisten the eggplant and make it sweat a little before it goes into the oven. Let the eggplant rest for about 10 minutes.Chop the eggplant pulp that we removed and keep aside. We will be adding this to the Lentil Hummus mixture.Pre heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes and keep it ready.Heat oil in a pan over medium heat; add the carrots, sprinkle a little salt. You can sprinkle with some salt and roast the carrots to fasten the cooking process. Keep aside and allow it to cool.In the same pan; heat a little more oil. Add the chopped eggplant pulp, sprinkle salt and roast the eggplant in the pan until soft. Cover the pan to fasten the cooking process of the eggplant. Once done, turn off the heat and allow it to cool.Once done, add the cooked masoor dal, roasted carrots, roasted eggplant, cumin seeds, lemon juice, garlic and salt into a mixer and blend to a coarse mixture. This is now the red lentil hummus.Stir in a tablespoon of olive oil into the red lentil hummus. Give it a taste and adjust the salt and seasonings according to taste.Now the final step is to bake the eggplant. Cut strips of a foil large enough to hold one eggplant half. We will be using the foil to wrap the eggplant. Place the eggplant halves on centre of each of the foils and fill it with the red lentil hummus. Loosely wrap the eggplant with the foil ensuring it is not tight, and there is enough circulation to steam cook the eggplant.Grill the Stuffed Eggplant for about 20 minutes until the eggplant shells are soft. Once done, you can open the foil and optionally sprinkle parmesan cheese and bake it open until the cheese melts just a bit.Once done, remove from the oven and place the baked eggplants on a serving platter. While the eggplant is baking in the oven, we can make the crumble and the garlic yogurt.To make the CrumbleMake a coarse powder of the walnuts and the almonds and keep aside.Heat a skillet, add a tablespoon of butter, add in chopped garlic and saute till they soften.Add in chopped onions, saute well till the onions have caramelised and changed colour to dark brown.Add in ground nuts and keep toasting the nuts for few minutes. Add in red chilli flakes, oregano, and paprika powder sugar and salt to taste. Give it a mix and set aside in a bowl.To Make the Garlic Greek yogurtIn a bowl, add in greek yogurt, chopped garlic, drizzle lemon juice and whisk well till it combines. Refrigerate the Greek Yogurt until you are ready to serve.Spoon the garlic yogurt over the baked eggplant and sprinkle the spicy toasted crumble and garnish with fresh mint leaves on top and serve hot or cold.Serve the Baked Eggplant with Red Lentil Hummus Recipe along with Couscous Raw Mango Salad Recipe and Cantaloupe (Melon) Juice Recipe as an appetizer for parties.