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Khayan thee Hnat (Burmese Stuffed Aubergine Curry)

Khayan thee Hnat (Burmese Stuffed Aubergine Curry) is a traditional Myanmar (Burmese) recipe for a curry made of baby aubergines with a shrimp, onion, garlic, chilli, turmeric and paprika stuffing. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Burmese version of: Burmese Stuffed Aubergine Curry (Khayan thee Hnat).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

50 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : CurryVegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesMyanmar Recipes

This is an interesting curry from Myanmar (Burma) for a dish of baby aubergines that are filled with a shrimp, onion, garlic, chilli, turmeric and paprika blend before being fried and then stewed until soft. The flavour of this dish is dependent on the prawns. However, you could make a decent vegetarian version by using dried mushroom powder for the dried shrimps and miso paste or similar for the shrimp paste (it’s all about the umami).

Ingredients:

2 tbsp dried shrimps (or use 1 tsp smoked paprika)
5 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or peanut oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp shrimp paste (substitute miso paste for a vegetarian version)
8 long baby aubergines (about 500g)

To serve:
a handful of crispy fried shallots
a handful of coriander leaves

Method:

Pound the dried shrimps to a powder in a mortar (better than a food processor as they tend to puff up into a floss).

Place a large, lidded, frying pan over low-medium heat. When hot add 4 tbsp oil and use to fry the onion and garlic for 10 minutes until soft and golden in colour.

Now add the chilli flakes, turmeric and paprika to the pan and stir-fry for a minute or two, until aromatic. Stir in the shrimp paste, so it melts into the mixture, then add the shrimp powder and mix well, then empty the contents of the pan into a separate bowl.

Cut the aubergines in half along their length, but not all the way through, keeping the stem end intact. Now make another cut along the length, again preserving the stem, so the aubergine is in quarters but still connected by the stem. Carefully stuff each aubergine with the mixture with your hands. This will be a bit messy and some of the filling may well fall out, but that’s fine. You should be left with a small amount of filling that you can stir into the cooking sauce.

Give the used frying pan a wipe with kitchen paper, then heat the remaining oil in it over a high heat. Carefully add the aubergines. Try to turn them over carefully so that all sides are charred (easiest done with tongs). This should take a couple of minutes. Add 150ml of water to the pan with the remaining filling and bring to a boil. Leave to simmer with a lid on.

After 15 minutes the aubergines should be soft and ready to serve. Garnish with the fried shallots and coriander.