Indian cuisine has so many different curries and gravy recipes. This eggplant, the small Indian brinjal curry known as bagara baingan, is famous from South Indian cuisine. It’s a nutty, creamy, and spicy curry, and we love this with plain steamed rice. But you can also serve it with mild pulao or biryani or roti. This bagara baingan recipe is very close to my heart. It is one of the recipes I learned from my friends in Folsom when I came to the US. As I love this recipe so much, my friends always make this for me during our weekend get-togethers. I have seen them making this recipe multiple times, but I started making it only after moving to the Bay Area. I want to thank my friends Suneetha and Shailaja for sharing this delicious recipe. I adjusted the spice measure, and I added jaggery so that my son could also enjoy the dish. Like any other recipe, adjust the spice measure to taste. PS – I am participating in the monthly blogging marathon like before, and this week’s theme is “one ingredient in different ways.” I have picked the ingredient – brinjal/eggplant, and I will share some delicious brinjal recipes in the coming days. Now back to the recipe, the ingredient list and process might sound lengthy, but the recipe is straightforward. It’s slightly time consuming, but it’s worth the time. You can make the dry masala ahead, which helps speed the cooking process. Let’s get straight into the ingredient list and the procedure.
Ingredients
Oil: We need a little extra oil for this recipe. We need 5 tbsp of oil (2 tbsp for shallow frying the brinjals + ½ tbsp for the masala + 2.5 tbsp for the curry) for the recipe, and I used peanut oil. You can use avocado oil or corn oil, or vegetable oil. Brinjal: I have always used small purple Indian brinjals for this recipe. You can use the graffiti variety too. The small purple ones work well in this recipe. Use tender and fresh brinjals. For the wet masala: We need onion, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger garlic paste for the wet masala. You can also use fresh garlic and ginger. For the dry, nutty masala: We need peanuts, white sesame seeds, dry coconut, and poppy seeds for this dry masala. You can prepare this ahead and store it in an air-tight container. Spice powders: We also need ground coriander, turmeric, red chili powder, and garam masala. Tamarind: I used my homemade tamarind paste. I have used 1 tsp of my homemade tamarind paste mixed with water. If using tamarind flesh, use small gooseberry-sized tamarind. Soak it in water for 30 to 40 minutes and extract the juice. We need salt, water, and jaggery(optional), apart from the above ingredients. The recipe card has all the measurement details.
Dietary specifications
This bagare baingan is a vegan and gluten-free curry by nature but has peanuts. You can serve this curry with pulao varieties, biryani varieties, plain rice or jeera rice, or with roti.You can store this curry in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
How to make bagara baingan
Chop and shallow-fry the eggplant
Wash the brinjals and pat them dry – no need to remove the stems. Slit the brinjals vertically. I make two slits and make sure you are not slicing them in half. Heat a pan add two tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot, add the slit brinjals and shallow fry them until they turn color and become a bit soft.
Transfer the shallow-fried brinjals into a plate or strainer lined with kitchen paper to drain the excess oil.
Saute the onions and prepare the wet paste
After transferring the brinjals, add ½ tbsp oil to the same kadai. When it is hot, add cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. Saute for 30 seconds, and then add the onion and ginger-garlic paste.
Saute until the onions turn soft. Transfer it to a mixer jar.
Let it cool and grind into a smooth paste without adding water.
Prepare the dry masala.
While the onions are cooling down, you can use the same kadai to prepare the dry masala. No need to add oil. First, roast the peanuts for 2 minutes and then add the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and dry coconut. Reduce the heat to medium-low and roast until the coconut turns light brown. Transfer it to a plate and let it cool.
Then grind it coarsely without adding any water like below.
Prepare the bagara baingan
Heat a pan and the remaining 2.5 tbsp oil. When the oil is hot, add the ground onion paste. Saute for 5 to 8 minutes until the moisture is absorbed and oil starts to ooze out on the sides.
Now add the ground dry masala – the ground peanuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dry coconut.
Mix well, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for five more minutes or until the oil oozes out on the sides. Add the dry spice powders – coriander powder, red chili powder, garam masala, and turmeric powder.
Mix and add 1 tsp of tamarind paste mixed with 2 cups of water, followed by salt.
Thoroughly mix the curry without any lumps, cook for a minute, and then add the shallow-fried brinjals. Gently mix, be careful not to break the brinjals.
Cover and cook the gravy for 3 to 4 minutes over medium-low heat, remove the cover, add the jaggery, mix gently, cook for 3 to 4 minutes, and turn off the heat.
Finally, add cilantro and mix. Serve with rice or roti.
Recipe notes
You can deep-fry the brinjals, but I have always shallow-fried it. We want the brinjal to hold its shape. So while mixing and flipping the brinjals, be gentle. Don’t slit the brinjals too deep as well. Adjust the salt and spices to taste.Dry coconut works well in this recipe, but you can also use fresh coconut. But make sure to roast the fresh coconut well. Ensure to cook the curry in medium-low heat, and at each stage, cook until the raw smell goes off for a rich and flavorful curry. After adding brinjals, we cover and cook but do not overdo. This step helps soften the brinjals further and helps the brinjal absorb all the flavor.
Explore other eggplant recipes
PS: If you try this bagara baingan, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it ASAP. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more recipe updates! You can also sign-up for my newsletter for weekly updates.
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