Bagara Baingan is a traditional Hyderabadi dish, full of different flavours and delicious. Browned baby eggplants in a spicy masala gravy spooned over hot rice is just yum! Roasting the eggplants before adding to the rich gravy gives the dish an amazing flavour.
Brinjal is a versatile vegetable and roasted eggplants in a peanut-sesame seeds-coconut sauce is sure to stir your taste buds. This shiny purple vegetable makes a great base for meatless dishes and is the ideal brain food.
Baghara Baingan or curried eggplant is deliciously perfect. This classic Hyderabadi-inspired vegetable dish is a great way to use and enjoy baby eggplants. Eggplant lovers are gonna love this vegetarian dish with all its flavours.
Hyderabadi Bagara Baingan Recipe:
From the land of the Nizams comes this sumptuous eggplant curry with its delicious outcome. Bagara Baingan masala curry with its lovely blend of spices and awesome flavours is a real crowd-puller. Enjoy this rich Indian spiced curry with hot rice or Naan.
How to make bagara baingan eggplant curry:
- To make roasted eggplant curry Indian style, firstly, heat a frying pan and dry roast peanuts on medium heat. Once they start to get some colour on them, then add the sesame seeds and sauté for a further minute or two. Now add grated coconut, give a quick stir and turn off the gas.
- Allow to cool and then grind the roasted ingredients to a smooth paste, adding water as required. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, wash the brinjals and slit them, keeping the stalk intact.
- Then, heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Place the slit baby brinjals in the pan and turn them around till they start to become a tender brown.
- Then, remove with a slotted spoon into a dish and set aside.
- Now, add 1 tbsp oil to the same pan and put in mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fresh curry leaves.
- Sauté for a couple of seconds and then add asafoetida, slit green chillies and finely chopped onions. Fry till the onions brown. Tip in ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute.
- Next, add the roasted and ground masala paste. Mix everything together and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously, till the oil starts to separate.
- Sprinkle salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, roasted cumin and coriander powder. Combine well.
- Add the lightly roasted baby brinjals. Mix in tamarind paste and garam masala powder. Add 1 cup of water and mix well.
- Simmer the brinjal curry on low-medium heat with a lid, stirring occasionally, till the brinjals are cooked through and you get the desired consistency. Stir in jaggery and remove.
- Finally, garnish the Baingan ki sabzi with coriander leaves and serve Hyderabad Bagara Baingan with steamed rice, vegetable biryani or pulao, rotis or parathas.
If you are looking for more recipes of brinjal, do check out Brinjal Onion Masala and Eggplant and Peas.
Brinjal Curry Andhra Style details below:
Roasted Baingan In Spiced Masala Gravy
Ingredients
- Purple brinjals – 12, small, slit
- Oil – 2 tbsp
Dry Roast and Grind:
- Peanuts – 2 ½ tbsp
- Sesame seeds – 2 ½ tbsp
- Coconut – 3 tbsp grated
For the gravy:
- Mustard – 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds ½ tsp
- Asafoetida– a pinch
- Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
- Green chillies – 2 slit
- Onion – 1 medium, finely chopped
- Ginger-garlic – ¾ tsp
- Tamarind paste – ½ tbsp
- Turmeric – ¼ tsp
- Chilli powder – ½ tsp
- Coriander powder – ½ tbsp
- Cumin powder – 1 tsp
- Garam Masala – ½ tsp
- Salt – ½ tsp
- Oil – 1tbsp
- Jaggery - ½ tsp
- Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp, chopped
- Water – 1 cup
Instructions
- Dry roast peanuts and sesame seeds in a frying pan on low heat till the ingredients turn light brown. Add freshly grated coconut, sauté for 1-2 seconds and remove from stove. Cool and grind the ingredients to a smooth paste with a little water.
- Wash and slit the baby brinjals lengthwise into four, keeping the stem intact.
- Heat oil in a frying pan and sauté the brinjals over medium heat till they soften. Remove and keep aside.
- Add some more oil to the same pan and sizzle mustard and cumin seeds and fresh curry leaves.
- Next add a pinch of hing, green chillies and chopped onions. Fry till the onions start to brown.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell disappears.
- Tip in the ground paste and let it cook for a couple of minutes, till the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan.
- Add the spices – salt, turmeric, coriander powder, jeera powder and chilli powder. Mix everything together.
- Slide in the fried brinjals. Add tamarind paste, garam masala powder and combine everything well.
- Add a cup of water, stir and cook covered till the brinjals are done and the gravy starts to thicken to desired consistency.
- Mix in jaggery and turn off the gas.
- Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve Bhagara Baingan with Rice or Chapathis.
2 thoughts on “Bagara Baingan – Roasted Eggplants In Masala Gravy”