Vegetables Stuffed With Spices (Ravaiya Bharela)

• 1 cup roasted peanuts
• 4 teaspoons chopped peeled ginger
• 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
• 2 small fresh hot red chilies, each about 2 inches long
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground hot red pepper or cayenne
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt, if desired
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (see recipe)
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 cup corn, peanut or vegetable oil
• 9 small red waxy new potatoes
• 16 small white onions, about 1/2 pound
• 6 small, thin, light purple Chinese-style eggplants, each about 7 inches long
• 1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped, loosely packed fresh coriander

1. Put peanuts, ginger, garlic and chilies into container of an electric blender.
2. Blend as finely as possible.
3. Spoon and scrape mixture into a mixing bowl.
4. Add turmeric, red pepper, cumin, coriander, salt, sugar, garam masala and 2 tablespoons of oil.
5. Blend well with fingers.
6. Cut potatoes lengthwise, slightly more than halfway down.
7. Give potatoes slightly more than a quarter turn and make a similar cut.
8. The cut portion can be opened slightly to provide space for stuffing.
9. Fill the cut sections of each potato with equal portions stuffing.
10. Peel onions.
11. Cut each, slicing down with a knife almost but not quite through to the bottom.
12. Give each onion a quarter turn and slice in similar fashion.
13. Open up onions and stuff with spice mixture.
14. Trim off ends of eggplants.
15. Cut each eggplant crosswise in half.
16. Partly slice open each piece so that it can be opened up but remains hinged at the bottom.
17. Fill halves with equal portions of spice mixture.
18. Put remaining cup of oil in bottom of a casserole and arrange vegetables, stuffed side up in layers, one atop the other.
19. Cover casserole closely with a shallow pan that fits more or less compactly.
20. Pour an inch or so of water in pan.
21. Heat vegetables until they start to cook in the oil.
22. Let cook over low heat until potatoes are tender, 30 to 35 minutes.
23. Stir gently, if at all, as vegetables cook.
24. Sprinkle with coriander before serving.

peanuts, peeled ginger, garlic, red chilies, turmeric, ground hot red pepper, ground cumin, ground coriander, salt, sugar, garam masala, corn, red waxy new potatoes, white onions, thin, fresh coriander

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/2386 (may not work)