बैंगन भाजा/Baigan-Bhaja(Pan fried Brinjal)

Baigan-Bhaja 

Baigan /Brinjal/Eggplant /Aubergine is a versatile vegetable aka "fruit". Roast it, grill it, fry it make vegetable /bharta etc it tastes amazing. The list of different ways it can be cooked is end less. My mother used to make amazing pakodas (fritters with black gram flour). My maternal grandfather used to made stuffed brinjal with dark purple thin long Brinjal. I love bharta made with roasted Brinjal either cooked with onion etc. Or just mashed and mixed with mustard oil and spices. 

Recently  I learnt to make Bhaja from my daughter's cook. I loved this preparation of baigan/Brinjal. Baigan bhaja are very popular in Bihar /Bengal. Usually eaten with daal-bhaat. 

Preparation Time : 15 minutes 

Cooking Time :15 minutes 

Servings :Makes 10 pieces (depends upon length of Brinjal l

Nutritional value of Bhaja Made from 200 gm of Baigan :

Energy :150 cal 

Carbs: 12gm

Sugars: 7gm

Sodium : 16 gm

Potassium : 460 mg

Fats:  26 gm

Cholesterol :0gm

Vutamins : Rich in vitamin C and B6

Minerals : Rich in Iron and Magnesium 

Ingredients for Making Baigan Bhaja: 

• Brinjal Round one:1 (this is also called bharta wala baigan) 

Baigan/Brinjal for Bhaja 

• Amchur powder : 1Table spoon 
• Salt:  1 Teaspoon (or as per taste) 
• Turmeric powder :1/2Teaspoon 
• Red chili powder : 1Teaspoon (or as per taste) 
• Dhaniya powder : 1Table spoon 
• Chat masala 1Teaspoon 
• Jeera powder 1/2 Teaspoon 
• Mustard oil: 10 ml. (best results are with mustard oil but type of oil can be used as per choice) 

Directions For Making Baigan-Bhaja:

• Mix all dry spices to make a homogeneous mixture. 

Mixture of spices powder 

• Wash and pat dry the baigan. 
• Cut 2-3 millimeter thick round pieces. 

Baigan pieces 

• Apply dry spices powder mixture evenly on both sides of Brinjal pieces. 

Baigan pieces coated with spices 

• Heat 5ml oil on a nonstick pan. 
• When the oil is hot place Brinjal pieces coated with spices on the pan with hot oil. 

Baigan pieces placed on pan with hot oil 

• Bring the heat to medium and let then cook till the side on the pan becomes golden brown. It takes approx. 4 - 5 minutes. 
• Sprinkle 3-5ml oil on side of pieces facing up (uncooked side). 

Baigan pieces cooked on one side 

• Flip the pieces and let the other side be now on the pan. Cook on medium heat till the other side also becomes golden brown. 

Cooked on both sides

• Press lightly to squeeze oil from cooked pieces (if you desire so). 
• Remove cooked pieces from pan and serve with daal-bhaat. 

Baigan - Bhaja 

Tips:

• Baja tastes best when cooked fresh and hot. So don't cook and keep re-heating makes it lose texture and taste. 
• Do not keep the Brinjal pieces after cutting they will turn brown. 
• Do not put Brinjal pieces in water as they will soak water and will take longer to cook, will leave water during cooking thus will not hold the shape and will taste soggy. 
• Apply masala immediately after cutting. 
• Start cooking once masala is applied. Keeping Brinjal pieces with masala will make them lose moisture and turn soggy. 
• Check while the bhaja is being cooked by lifting the piece slightly. Medium heat for different stove may be different. 

Alternate Suggestions :

None 

Baigan-tamatar ki sabzi (Eggplants / Brinjals with Tomatoes)

Granny's Achari Baigan

Eating brinjal savory (Baigan ki sabji) at my daughter’s place was like jogging down the memory lane. It has been years that my grandma left us and though I remembered her cooking yet do not know how such a wonderful dish had not come to my mind earlier. In Kumaon many people at that time not used to eat (as well as store in house) onions and garlic thus my grandmother used to make brinjal my mom’s favorite vegetable with lots of tomato and spices. I had completely forgotten about it till my daughter made it for me. What a delightful experience it was to be reminded of my grandma’s cooking by my daughter. Today I share this recipe with nostalgia of childhood visits to my granny’s place and have nasmed it as Granny's Achari Baigan in her memory. Absolutely easy, least oily full of flavors and taste this recipe is a must try for all brinjal lovers. Even those who do not like brinjal much will fall in love with this brinjal preparation.

Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 30-40 minutes

Servings:  6 Large servings

Ingredients Required For Making Granny's Achari-Baigan:

• 1 kg Big Dark Violet Color Brinjal  

Brinjals

• 1 kg Red Ripe Tomatoes

Ripe Tomatoes

• 3 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds
• 3 Teaspoons Kalonji (Black Caraway seeds)
• 1/2Teaspoon Asafoetida powder (I use LG Asefoetida powder)
• 10 ml Mustard oil (any cooking oil)
• 3-4 Teaspoon Red chili powder (or to taste)
• 2 teaspoon sugar (Optional)
• Salt to taste

Direction For Making Grand-Ma’s Achari-Baigan:

• Mix Turmeric, salt, 2 teaspoon Red chili powder to make spices mixture for brinjals. Keep aside for later use.
• Wash the brinjals, tomatoes and dry with a cloth.
• Cut one brinjal horizontally to get 2-2.5 mm round pieces.

Brinjal Pieces

• Immediately sprinkle the brinjal pieces with the spices mixture. Make sure all pieces are coated on both sides with spices mixture.
• Heat non-stick tawa and sprinkle 1 oil on it. Spread oil on tawa and place the brinjal pieces on hot tawa and lower the flame.

Brinjal Pieces Cooking with spices mixture

• Repeat the same with all brinjals.
• Cook for 8-10 min on low flame without covering it.

One side cooked 

• Flip the brinjal pieces and cook on the other side also for 4-5 min. This will make the brinjal pieces soft. Do not cook on high flame and do not overcook brinjal.

I love the stalk also yummy to chew and suck the juices

• While the brinjals are cooking make paste of tomato in a grinder- mixer.
• Take 2 ml oil in a wok and heat it till smoking hot.
• Lower the flame and add Black caraway seeds (Kalonji), Fennel seeds (Saunf) and let them split to get maximum flavor. Make sure they do not burn.
• Add asafoetida mix and add tomato paste.

Ready for tomato paste

Tomato paste cooking with tempering 

• Cook on low flame with regular stirring till tomato paste becomes thick and starts leaving the edges of wok. It took me 15 min.

Tomato paste and Brinjal pieces cooking side by side

Tomato paste ready fort cooked Brinjal pieces to be added

• Add the cooked brinjal pieces to the cooked tomato paste and mix lightly so that the brinjal pieces get coated with tomato paste but not get mashed up.

Brinjal pieces added to tomato paste and mixed

• Add salt and chili powder according to your taste.
• Cover and cook for 2-3 min. stirring with light hands once or twice max.
• Add sugar and mix. Cook for 1 min with lid on the wok.
• Grand-ma’s Achari baigan is ready.

Ready to be served

• Remove from the wok in a serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander leafs.

Granny's Achari Baigan

Granny's Achari Baigan

• Serve hot with any type of Indian bread/Dal-Chawal.

Tips:

• Make sure brinjals do not have seeds.
• All utensils used by me are non-stick thus less amount of oil usage. If other non-stick vessels are not used then oil for brinjal pieces cooking will have to be increased so that they do not stick to pan and break.
• Cut the brinjals and add spice to only that many pieces which can be accommodated on your cooking pan/tawa rest can be kept covered in fridge till one lot is cooked.
• Do not add spices mixture to all pieces until unless you can cook them immediately, else juices will start coming out of brinjal and they will become soggy (Undesired change).
• Make sure brinjal pieces are not cut too thin or too thick. Thin pieces will burn off and break while mixing with tomato paste and too thick will become lumpy.
• The wok taken for mixing the cooked tomato paste and brinjal pieces should be large enough to allow them to spread nicely not get crowded, else mixing will take properly also brinjal pieces will get crushed while mixing.
• This dish tastes best with mustard oil.
• Always take chili powder quantity according to the hotness of it. All variety of chilies, chili powders have different degree of hotness.
• Sugar adds that extra element to tangy, spicy, sour taste of Achari baigan. This is the only change I made to original recipe.

Alternative Suggestions:

• I do not throw away the stalk with green on it, but cook a;longwith. It is yummy to chew and suck juices out of it.
• Tomatoes amount can be increased to 1:1.5 ratio by weight. 
• You can cook baigan and tomato paste as directed in recipe and store them separately in fridge. Mix the required quantity of both cook and enjoy as and when needed.
• If tomatoes are too sour in taste then sugar adding is must.

Bharwa Baigan/भरवां बैगन ( Stuffed eggplant/Brinjal)

Bharwa Baigan (Stuffed brinjal)

The sight of small Dark color brinjal instantly bring the memory of my paternal grand pa dolling out generous helpings of stuffed brinjal prepared by him, along with hot chapatti. Stuffed brinjal prepared by him is the best I have tasted till date. For him kitchen was female domain, but when we used to go to their place he would enter the kitchen just to make stuffed baigan for us! There are so many variations of making stuffed baigan. In north India the thin long dark purple color is used for this preparation, whereas in Maharashtra small one with white and purple shade having thorny stalk is preferred, in southern part of India small one with dark purple color is used. As far as I am concerned I love all of them with any variation in the filling.

Brinjal is rich in Vitamin A, B­₁, B_2, B₃ and minerals like Potassium, Calcium, and Iron. It is highly rich in dietary fibers. Brinjal is good for type 2 diabetes and to maintain cholesterol levels thus good for heart.

The anti –oxidants present in brinjal help in fighting cancer. Brinjal is also said to help in fighting insomnia, if roasted brinjal is taken with honey just before going to bed

Preparation Time: 30 min.

Cooking Time : 30-40 min.

Servings: 10 medium servings

Ingredients Required For Preparing Bharela Baigan:

• 500 gm. small variety brinjal

Biagan ( Brinjal/Egg plant) for making stuffed baigan ( Bharwa Baigan)

• 2 Medium size Onions

• 5-6 Cloves of Garlic

• 2 / 3 cm. Piece Ginger

• 1 Tea spoon Cumin seeds

• 50 gm. Ground nuts (moong fali)

• 1 Tea spoon Red Chili Powder

• 1/2Tea spoon Turmeric Powder

• 1 Tea spoon Amchur Powder

• 1 Tea spoon Garam masala

• 1 Rea spoon Dhania Powder (coriander seed powder)

•  2-3 sprigs of fresh Coriander

• Salt to taste

• 15 – 20 ml olive oil / mustard oil / or any other cooking oil

Directions For Preparing Bharela Baigan:

• Wash and towel dry the baigan.

• Split the brinjals into four parts in such a manner that it remains joined from the stalk end.

Split to four parts from bottom but from the stalk

Brinjal(Baigan) split from the bottom

• Grate onions.

Grated Onion

• Grate ginger.

• Cut garlic very fine.

• Roast ground nuts.

• Remove the outer covering of roasted ground nuts.

• Make fine powder of roasted and cleaned ground nuts in a grinder- mixer.

Direction For Preparing the Filling;

• Take 2ml. oil in a pan and let it become hot.

• Add cumin seeds and let them splutter.

• Add grated onion and cook till the onion is of just light pink color.

• Add grated ginger and finely cut garlic.

• Cook for 2 min. with regular stirring.

• Add salt, mix nicely and cook for a min.

• Add Red chili powder, Dhania powder, Garam masala and mix nicely.

Dhaniya and red chili powder added to partially cooked onion

• Add finely cut fresh coriander leaves

To the onion mixture coriander added

• Cook for 2-3 min. with regular stirring,

• Add ground nut powder and mix nicely.

Peanut powder added to the onion spices mixture

All ingredients mixed and being cooked

• Add amchur powder and mix.

• Remove from gas and allow the filling to cool.

Stuffing ready to be filled in the baigan

Preparing the Bharela Baigan:

• Fill the split baigan with the filling.

• Take 10- 15 ml. oil in a thick bottom pan and heat on high flame till the oil is smoking hot.

• Lower the flame and place the stuffed baigan in the pan with hot oil.

Stuffed baigan being cooked on low flame 

• Cook for 2-3min. without turning over and with out covering.

• Turn the brinjals upside down with gentle hands.

Baigan turned with spatula

• Cover and cook for 30 min. with turning over the brinjals every 4-5 min.

Covered and cooking on low flame

• The cooked brinjals will start losing the oil it had absorbed during cooking.

Bharwa Baigan(Bharela Baigan) Stuffed Brinjal

• The cooked stuffed brinjals will look shiny, soft juicy.

• Take out in a serving plate and serve with hot chapatti / Roti / Paratha and as my grand pa used to do with a broad smile 

Bharwa Baigan (Stuffed Brinjal)

Tips:

• Do not cook on high flame else baigan will become crysp from out side but will remain raw from inside.

• Make sure the brinjals are soft and do not have seeds in them.

• The onions should be just light pink while making filling not dark as it will get further cooked with brinjals.

• Brinjals should collapse and should be soft to touch when cooked.

• Stalk of brinjals should not be removed in any stage of cooking.

Suggested Variations:

• Ground nut can be replaced with finely grated fresh coconut.

• If you are taking coconut then onion can be cut and cooked instead of grating and the finally cooked filling can be cooled and made to coarse paste in grinder – mixer.

• Amchur can be replaced with tamarind pulp.

• Cook the bharela baigan in non stick pan this will reduce the consumption of oil from 15 ml. to 5 ml.

Achari Baigan ( Brinjal and cucumber vegetable with pickle taste)

Achari Baigan

Baigan (Brinjal) is made to bharta, vegetable, as accompaniment with roti, Dal-chawal as main course meal.

I yet fail to understand why my friends used to call it Be-Gun (without any good property). Brinjal is rich in Vitamin A, Calcium, and potassium. It is full of nutrients and has lovely taste. I love all preparation of Brinjal but Achari Baigan is my favorite.

Do not dismiss brinjal from your kitchen but try this recipe and your family and you will love to have baigan in your vegetable basket.

Preparation Time: 15 min.

Cooking Time: 30min.

Servings: Makes 4 Medium helpings

Ingredients for making Achari Baigan:

250 gm. Brinjal

Brinjals

• 250gm. Cucumber

• 1 Medium size Potato.

• 1 Tea spoon Cumin Seeds

• 1 Tea spoon Mustard Seeds

• 1 Tea spoon Fennel Seeds (Saunf)

• 1/2Tea spoon Nigella seeds (Kalonji)

• 1/2Tea spoon Methi seeds

• 1/2Tea spoon Turmeric Powder

• 1 Tea spoon Red Chili Powder

• 2-3 Whole Red Chilies

• 2 Tea spoon Amchur powder

• Salt to taste

• 30 ml. Mustard oil / or any other cooking oil.

Directions for Making Achari Baigan:

• Wash and towel dry brinjal and cucumber.

• Remove the stalk from brinjal and cut them to long 1/2cm. thick pieces.

Brinjal cut to long thin pieces

• Peel the cucumber and remove the inner soft portion with seeds.

Peeled Cucumber

Inner Pulpy portion removed from Cucumber

Inner Pulpy portion not to be used in Achari Baigan

• Take the outer non-pulpy part of cucumber and cut it to 5-6 cm. long and 2 cm. thick pieces.

Cucumber cut to long thin pieces

• Peel wash and cut the potato to thin long pieces. 

Potato cut to long thin pieces

• Take oil in a wok and heat on high flame till smoking hot.

• Lower the flame and add

• Mustard seeds,

• Nigella seeds (Kalonji)

• Cumin seeds

Mustard seeds, Cumin, Kalonji added to oil

• Then after 30 sec. of cooking add

• Fennel seeds (Saunf)

• Methi seeds

• Whole red chili

Fennel seeds, Whole red chili , Fenugreek seeds added to rest of the spices in oil

• Let the seeds splutter and cook for 30sec.

• Add potato pieces and mix nicely.

Potato pieces added to oil and spices

• Cook for 2-3 mi with regular stirring.

• Add brinjal and mix to mix the oil and spices nicely.

Brinjal pieces added

• Cook for 10 min. with regular turning of the brinjal in oil and spices.

Brinjal pieces cooked for ten min. and ready for cucumber to be added

• Add cucumber pieces and mix thoroughly.

Cucumber pieces added

• Cook for another 10 min. with regular stirring but without covering the wok.

Cooked for ten min.  after adding cucumber without covering

• Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and amchur.

Turmeric, Red chili powder, alt and Amchur added to the vegetable mixture

• Mix thoroughly and cover and cook for 5 min. without stirring.

• The part of vegetable touching the wok will become reddish brown.

Vegetables cooked to brown color on one side

• Turn the vegetable upside down in the wok.

• Cover and cook for another 5 min. 

Other side of vegetables cooked to brown color

• Removed the cooked Achari Baigan in a serving bowl and enjoy it with Hot chapatti or Dal chawal.

Achari Baigan

Tips:

• Those who do not use mustard oil can use olive oil or any other cooking oil, but Achari Baigan tastes best when made in mustard oil.

• The brinjal taken should be tender and firm, without seeds in it.

Soft Baigan to be used for Achari Baigan

• Do not put the center pulpy part in the vegetable if you do so it will make the Achari baigan lumpy.

• Do not reduce oil amount because this preparation requires more oil, if you want you can increase the amount of oil to 40 ml.

• Stir the vegetable but be careful it is not mashed.

Suggested Variations:

• One or two medium size carrots (100gm) can be added to the vegetable along with cucumber while cooking.

• Potato can be avoid if one wants to avoid potato in vegetable.

• In the season of raw mango amchur can be replaced with peeled and thinly cut pieces of one medium size mango. the mango pieces should be added along with cucumber.

• While cooking one teaspoon mustard powder can be added for change of taste and tangy flavor.