Badimjan Levengi

BADIMJAN LEVENGI (Stuffed Eggplant)

Ingredients:
5 small eggplants
1 large Onion
1 cup of walnuts
1 tablespoon of sour Alcha paste/Lavashana (Cherry-plums paste)
50-70gr of butter
Salt, Pepper to taste
2 pounds of Lamb chops (8 ribs)

Preparation:
Preparing the eggplants.
Wash the eggplants well and cut of the stalks. Peel 2-3 stripes down the sides. Cut a long slit in the middle of eggplants, being careful not to cut them too deep to the bottom. Place them into boiling water and blanch for 5-10 minutes. Put them on a plate, press with some weight to let the water to drain, and leave them to cool down.
Lightly fry the eggplants for a few minutes in butter or vegetable oil.

Preparing the stuffing.
Peel and finely grate the onion or run it through a blender. Place onion in a strainer set over a bowl and with the back of a large spoon press to get the remaining juice out. Or you can squeeze the onion through gauze (cheesecloth fabric). Save the juice for Lamb chops.
Squeezed onion fry in the butter until golden brown.
Blend the nuts finely using a blender (or food processor).
Plunge lavashana into hot water to make it softer. Alcha (Cherry-plum) paste can be used instead of lavash.
Add walnuts and alcha paste to the onion, season with salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Fry your stuffing for a few minutes. Add more melted butter if necessary.

Preparing the lamb chops.
Place lamb chops in the bowl with the onion juice and season with salt and pepper. Let them marinade in the room temperature for 30 minutes or longer for the best taste.

Preparing Levengi.
Carefully open the slit on the eggplants. Fill the eggplants with the staffing and place them in the roasting pan side-by-side stuffing side up.
Remove the lamb chops from the onion juice and coat them with melted butter or oil. Place lamb chops on the roasting pan. You can place them together with the eggplants. Pour two tablespoons of the melted butter in the roasting pan. If cooking separately, add ½ cup of water to the eggplants. If cooking together, don’t add any water, lamb chops will release their own juice. Cover them loosely with aluminum foil and cook in the preheat oven to 350-400°F (180-200°С) degrees, until the eggplants are tender and the lamb chops are cooked through. Uncover the foil, increase the temperature and roast until lamb chops are golden brown.

Bon Appétit! Enjoy!

This post is also available in: Russian