Head to your local vegetable store or Indian grocer to find baby eggplants, then use them for this moreish dish.

A few weeks ago Wyoming Paul wrote about eggplant as part of her “ingredient of the week” series on The Spinoff. It was great to see baingan bharta, a grilled eggplant curry, feature in her list of dishes where eggplant shines – #represent – but it got me wondering: had Wyoming, or anyone really, heard of ravaiya?

Ravaiya is traditionally a Gujarati dish of baby eggplants. Some people stuff them with spiced crushed peanuts; some simply marinate them and cook them in a spiced tomato gravy. However, the Parsi version I’ve come across is a recipe of baby eggplants stuffed with a mint and coriander coconut chutney.

The first time I ate ravaiya I was at my friend’s house, where her mother had made these for my vegetable-loving mum. She used the long, thin, light purple eggplants and had lightly tied them with twine to keep the chutney in. Before this I had only really eaten eggplants sliced and fried or in a moussaka so this was quite a revelation. Since then, I’ve tried making ravaiya with various different eggplants and with different kinds of chutney until I’ve narrowed it down to the version I like best: made with small dark purple eggplants, first fried and then cooked in the chutney itself.

RAVAIYA

For the chutney

• 1 coconut, grated (about 150gm dry coconut)
• 1 bunch of coriander
• 6-10 green chillies
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 20 mint leaves

For the eggplants

• 20 dark purple baby eggplants
• 1.5 tsp turmeric
• 1.5 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 2-3 tbsp ghee or oil

Take all the chutney ingredients and blend to make a smooth chutney, using just enough water to make a smooth paste.

Wash the eggplants and make two slits lengthwise in each, keeping the stems on.

Mix the turmeric, red chilli powder and salt and rub this masala into each of the eggplants. Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes.

Now stuff each eggplant with about a tablespoon of the chutney, taking care to ensure they don’t split. Let these rest for about 30 minutes to ensure the masala seeps in.

In a pan, heat the oil and shallow fry the eggplants to sear the skin lightly. I recommend using a broad, deep pan so that you don’t have to move them too much, as this will cause the chutney stuffing to leak out.

Once the eggplants are seared add in the remaining chutney along with a cup of water.

Cover and let the ravaiya cook for about 15-20 minutes until the eggplants are tender. If the chutney dries up add a little water. You want to end up with a thick consistency.

Serve hot with warm rotis.