Gujarati Eggplant And Sweet Potato Lasagna With Kadi Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• For the tomato sauce: Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and mash into a chunky puree using a potato masher. Bring to a simmer and partially cover the pan with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat.
• For the lasagna: While the sauce is cooking, drain the water from the spinach, place in a clean kitchen towel and wring well to remove any excess water. Break up the spinach into a large bowl. Set aside 1 cup of the mozzarella, then add the remaining mozzarella to the bowl with the spinach. Add the ricotta, Parmesan, nutmeg, eggs, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until well combined.
• Peel the sweet potatoes and trim a small bit from one of the longer ends on each so they will sit flat and not roll. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch planks.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• To assemble the lasagna: Add about 3/4 cup of sauce to the bottom of a deep 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Place a single layer of sweet potato slices along the bottom. Top with one-quarter of the ricotta and spinach mixture and use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread gently into an even layer. Dollop about 3/4 cup of sauce on top of the ricotta mixture. Top with another layer of sweet potato slices facing the opposite direction from the previous layer. Repeat with ricotta mixture and sauce until you have 4 layers, ending with the remaining sauce.
• Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil, top with the reserved mozzarella and bake until the lasagna is bubbling, the mozzarella is starting to brown and the sweet potatoes are tender when a paring knife is inserted into the center, an additional 45 to 60 minutes. Let sit for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Steps:

• Make the filling:
• Prepare the tomato masala and set aside.
• Prep the vegetables for the filling, keeping all of them separate: •Cut the sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. •Cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes. •Halve the zucchini crosswise. Stand one of the halves up and cut four 1/2-inch slices of flesh from around the seeds in the center. Dice the flesh into 1/2-inch cubes (discard the seeds. Repeat with the other half. •Cut the bell peppers into 1/2-inch squares.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium- high heat until it shimmers. Stir in the sweet potatoes and sauté, stirring occasionally, until parcooked and still a bit crunchy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the eggplant and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the zucchini and cook until the zucchini is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and sauté for 1 minute. Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl. Add the peanuts, tomato masala, and salt and mix well.
• Make the "lasagna" sheets:
• Have ready a wide expanse of very clean counter space.
• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the gram flour and water until smooth. Add the ginger, green chile, turmeric, yogurt, salt, and citric acid. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the batter is very thick, 9 to 10 minutes. (It will resemble thick pastry cream or cream puff dough.)
• Turn the dough out onto the counter. Working quickly and using an offset spatula, spread it into a very thin (1/8-inch-thick) rectangular sheet roughly 24x20 inches. Use a paring knife to trim the rectangle to an 18-inch square. (Discard the trimmings or snack on them.) Then cut that square into four precise 9-inch squares. The dough cools and sets quickly so you will be able to peel each of the four squares off the counter easily as you need them.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
• Assemble the "lasagna":
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
• Spread one-fourth of the vegetable mixture evenly into bottom of the pan, pressing down lightly on it with the back of a spoon so it gets into the corners and is compact rather than loose.
• Position one of the lasagna sheets over the vegetables so that it fits exactly in the pan. Repeat with the remaining three portions of vegetables and three lasagna sheets, ending with a lasagna sheet.
• Cover the lasagna with a 9-inch square of parchment paper, then cover the dish with foil. Place is on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make (or reheat) the kadi sauce.
• To serve, cut the lasagna into six rectangles. Serve in large pasta bowls with kadi sauce ladled over each portion.

Steps:

• Put all ingredients except for the olive oil and eggplants in a food processor, and pulse until the peanuts are ground. Add oil and pulse to combine; the mixture will resemble damp sand. Set aside.
• Cut a crosshatch in the bottom of the eggplant about three-quarters of the way up the fruit, leaving the stem intact. (In other words, you're making a deep plus-sign shape in the bulbous part of the fruit, so you can stuff it with the peanut filling.) Repeat with the remaining eggplants.
• Stuff each eggplant with a little of the peanut mixture, just enough to fill the hole. You should have some peanut mixture left over.
• Place the stuffed eggplants on their sides in a single layer on the bottom of a large pot or saucepan with a lid. The eggplants can overlap a little, but ideally they will all fit on the bottom of the pot. Dollop the leftover peanut mixture on top of and around the eggplants, and add 1 cup of water. Turn heat to medium and cover the pot. Let the eggplant cook at a simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the eggplants are just tender when you poke them at the stem end with the tip of a knife.
• Taste the sauce for salt, and serve hot with basmati rice or Indian flatbreads.

Steps:

• Mix the water, yogurt, and chickpea flour together in a large saucepan until smooth; add the green chile peppers, ginger, sugar, turmeric, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and then immediately reduce heat to low; cook on low 5 to 10 minutes.
• Heat the oil and ghee together in a small skillet over medium heat; fry the dried red chile peppers, curry leaves, cumin seeds, mustard seed, and asafetida powder in the the mixture until the seeds splutter. Stir the mixture into the saucepan with the cilantro. Serve hot.