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Makhani eggplant rollatini
Viola
Italy meets India in this amazing fusion Makhani eggplant rollatini recipe. Cheesy filled eggplant spirals sit atop the easiest makhani (also known as butter chicken) sauce and are topped with even more cheese to make this amazing, melt in your mouth and flavorful dish!
8slices sourdough bread(or any bread of your choice)
Instructions
To precook the eggplants:
Preheat your oven to 400F/200C.
Slice the eggplants lengthwise into ¼" thick slices. I used 2 eggplants and sliced each into 6 slices. Arrange them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Mix together the oil, red pepper flakes and crushed garlic and apply it over all the eggplant slices. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until soft and nicely flexible.
Take the eggplants out of the oven and let them cool down.
To make the makhani sauce:
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pan. When it gets hot, add in the onions and season with salt. Cook them until they turn translucent. When the onions are soft and lightly browned, add in the ginger garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes (or until lightly browned).
Next, add in the tomatoes and cashews and cook this mixture for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are super soft and mushy and most of the liquid has evaporated. Take it off the heat and let this mixture cool down.
Puree the cooled mixture into a fine paste using a blender or food processor.
Heat a teaspoon of oil and a tablespoon of butter in the same pan. When it gets hot, add in the kasoori methi and kashmiri chilli powder and toast the spices for about a minute before adding in the puree from the blender. Rinse out the blender with ¼ to ½ cup of water and add it into the pan.
Simmer this curry mixture for about 5 minutes on medium low heat before adding in the honey and garam masala. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed and cook for 1 more minute before turning off the heat
Transfer the curry sauce into an oven safe baking dish and spread evenly in the bottom. Save ¼ cup of the curry for later.
To make the filling:
Mix together all the ingredients in the stuffing section above. Place a heaped tablespoon of the filling onto each cooled eggplant slice before rolling into a spiral.
To assemble and bake:
Preheat your oven to 400F/200C.
Place the eggplant spirals onto the makhani sauce lined baking dish.
Top each spiral with the reserved makhani sauce and then top each spiral with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is nicely melted.
Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with some crunchy garlic bread.
To make the garlic bread:
Mix together the crushed garlic, red pepper flakes and dried cilantro with the softened butter until homogeneous. Apply this mixture generously over the slices of bread and top each slice with about a tablespoon of mozzarella cheese.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the same 400F/200C oven for about 6-8 minutes or until the bread is crunchy and the cheese is nicely melted.
Video
Notes
If you can't find ricotta cheese, you could substitute it with strained cottage cheese curds, cream cheese or goats cheese. Freshly made paneer (without all its moisture pressed out) will also work well here.
If you are vegan, or don't consume eggs, replace the stuffing with the potato peas filling from my samosa rolls recipe. Use oil instead of the butter and substitute mozzarella with vegan cheese or even omit the cheese entirely.