These stuffed baingans are spicy, tangy, a little nutty, AND made in the air fryer. They’re inspired by the Tamil Nadu classic dish Ennai Kathirikai, which pairs deliciously with some hot white rice. The advantage of making this in the air fryer is it's more of a hands-free experience as compared to the stovetop version. This recipe also uses less oil and cooks faster comparatively – which I love.
If you like Baingan, check out my Baingan Bhartha recipe and my Gutti Vankaya eggplant curry.
Air Fryer Stuffed Baingan, another recipe from my Air Fryer Series, is one of my personal favorites. The reason I love this one is because you wouldn’t think to make stuffed brinjals using the air fryer – but somehow it just works! All we do here is prepare a flavourful spice mix to stuff the brinjals with and then we bake them until tender. It’s a lot quicker than preparing this dish on the stovetop, so this recipe is perfect if you’re on a time crunch and want to make something without a lot of active cooking time.
Air Fryer – I use the Nutricook 5.5L Air Fryer
Quick Walk Through: Air Fryer Stuffed Baingan
Ingredients You'll Need for Air Fryer Stuffed Baingan
Baby Brinjal - I used 10-12 for a family serving, and I recommend using baby brinjal - the bright purple/violet type - since they are easy to stuff and serve
For the masala:
- Coriander Seeds
- Chana Dal
- Urad Dal
- Hing - just a pinch
- Coconut – I recommend freshly grated, but desiccated also works
- Dry Red Chilli – I use 5-6 chillies here because I like it spicy, but you can change this to your liking. I’ve used 3 Byadgi chillies (for that gorgeous red tint to the gravy) and 3 Guntur chillies (for a strong kick)
- Garlic - with the peel on, you don’t have to peel it, it’s totally safe
- Onion
- Salt – just a pinch
- Water – this isn’t for the entire spice mix, but we’ll use a couple tablespoons of water to make a the dish more moist
For the tempering:
- Oil
- Mustard Seeds
- Curry Leaves
- Turmeric Powder
About The Recipe
This recipe is inspired from the classic Tamil Nadu dish Ennai Kathirikai – a sour and complex stuffed eggplant with a semi-dry gravy. There’s just some dry roasting and grounding that we do for the spice mixture, and a quick tempering to make our brinjals extra flavourful, before we bake. I love recipes like this because there isn’t any chopping or major prep that we need to do – each step is super quick, and the clean up is really easy too.
I also notice a slight taste difference in making these stuffed brinjals in the air fryer as compared to the stovetop: you’ll find a light char to the eggplant which we already know works so great from dishes like Baingan Bhartha and Baba Ghanoush. It also uses less oil than the traditional version which can be quite heavy on the oils.
How to make Air Fryer Stuffed Baingan
1. Add coriander seeds, urad dal, chana dal, hing, garlic and onion to a pan. Roast for 3-4 minutes or until the dal starts to become golden brown. Add dry red chillies and coconut and roast for 1-2 minutes or until the coconut starts to become brown. Once cooked, transfer to a different bowl or plate and set aside to cool.
2. Transfer the spices to the masala jar or chutney jar of the blender and grind to a coarse powder. Make sure all the spices are ground and well blended. Remove two spoons of this spice mix and keep it aside.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of water to the blender jar and mix. The mix should be coarse but slightly wet. It should not be a dry mix as it will fall out when stuffed. Use more water if necessary.
4. Add oil to the same pan and allow it to heat up. Once hot, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Reduce the flame to low and add curry leaves and turmeric powder. Sauce for 5 seconds and turn off the heat.
5. Wash the baby brinjals and set aside on a cloth to dry. Just before using, make an X on the bottom of the brinjal. The cut should be deep enough to slightly open up the brinjal. Stuff all the brinjals with the spice mix and set aside for 10 minutes.
6. Add the prepared tempering over the stuffed brinjals and mix well.
7. Transfer the brinjals to an air fryer-proof pan and cover the pan with aluminium foil. Ensure that this is tightly sealed or it will come off in the air fryer. Cook 30 minutes at 180C.
8. Remove the aluminium foil and add the remaining spice mix. Use a spoon to mix and transfer back into the air fryer.
9. Add 2 tablespoons of water and mix well. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the brinjal is tender and cooked.
10. Serve hot along with rice and ghee or curd rice!
Top Tips To Make The Best Air Fryer Stuffed Baingan
- Avoid overcrowding the air fryer pan with baingan as it can restrict air flow and make everything soggy.
- Since each air fryer is different, the exact cooking time may vary slightly. It is best to check every 10 minutes or so for doneness.
Serving ideas for Air Fryer Stuffed Baingan
- With some steaming white boiled rice and hot ghee
- With some refreshing curd rice
- With biryani and raita for maximum flavour
If you haven’t tried making stuffed brinjal in the air fryer, this is your sign to try it ASAP! I’m always looking for innovative ways to cook family loved dishes – and this one has got to be on the top charts for us. As a mom, I love the convenience of this recipe, and my family loves the complex taste and pairing with ghee rice. Happy family, happy me, happy belly!
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Air Fryer Stuffed Baingan
Ingredients
- 10-12 Small Baby Brinjal or Eggplant
Masala
- 3 Tablespoons Coriander Seeds
- 1 Tablespoon Chana Dal
- 1 Tablespoon Urad Dal
- ¼ Teaspoon Hing
- ¼ Cup Freshly Grated Coconut
- 5-6 Dry Red Chilli I used 3 Byadgi Chilli and 3 Guntur Chilli
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Small Onion cut into chunks
- 1 Tablespoon Jaggery Powder
- 1 ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1-2 Tablespoons Water
Tempering
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 10 Curry Leaves
- ¼ Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
Instructions
- Wash the baby brinjals and set aside on a cloth to dry. Just before using, make an X on the bottom of the brinjal. The cut should be deep enough to slightly open up the brinjal.
Masala
- Add coriander seeds, urad dal, chana dal, hing, garlic and onion to a pan. Roast for 3-4 minutes or until the dal starts to become golden brown.
- Add dry red chillies and coconut and roast for 1-2 minutes or until the coconut starts to become brown. Once cooked, transfer to a different bowl or plate and set aside to cool.
- Transfer the spices to the masala jar or chutney jar of the blender and grind to a coarse powder. Make sure all the spices are ground and well blended.
- Remove two spoons of this spice mix and keep it aside. Add 1 tablespoon of water to the blender jar and mix. The mix should be coarse but slightly wet. It should not be a dry mix as it will fall out when stuffed. Use more water if necessary.
- Stuff all the brinjals with the spice mix and set aside for 10 minutes.
Tempering
- Add oil to the same pan and allow it to heat up.
- Once hot, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Reduce the flame to low and add curry leaves and turmeric powder. Sauce for 5 seconds and turn off the heat.
- Add this over the stuffed brinjals and mix well.
- Transfer the brinjals to an air fryer-proof pan and cover the pan with aluminium foil. Ensure that this is tightly sealed or it will come off in the air fryer.
- Cook 30 minutes at 180C.
- Remove the aluminium foil and add the remaining spice mix. Use a spoon to mix and transfer back into the air fryer. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the brinjal is tender and cooked.
- Serve hot along with rice and ghee or curd rice!
Sai says
This was an absolute banger. I may sound super dense but I never thought I could put an oven proof inside an air fryer. Perfectly cooked, soft and flavoursome and my family that doesn’t care much for baingan polished it off. We had it with dosas and it was the best dinner we have had in a long time. Thank you Richa. Your recipes are so easy, logical and tasty.