We buy mostly big eggplant for Baingan ka bharta recipe or Eggplant parmigiana, but this one time, I bought some small eggplants that I needed for cooking sambhar. I had 5 small eggplants leftover after sambhar, so I thought of making Baghar-e-Baingan. Restaurants or in the authentic style they usually deep fry eggplant but I made it by only shallow fry. After all Less oil and Great taste is the secret of my recipes.
Coconut, Peanut, and Sesame seeds gravy has a rich flavor and nice aroma which my kids loved a lot.
Ingredients
5 small eggplants
1 medium chopped onion
1/4 cup fresh coconut slices or grated dry coconut 3 tbsp
2 tablespoon sesame seeds (white or black, you can use one of them)
1/4 cup peanuts
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2,3 Green chili(as per your taste)
1 tsp Mustard seeds
pinch of Heeng
8,9 Curry leaves
1 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tbsp of Imli paste
Salt according to the taste.
1/4 tsp Red chili powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp coriander powder
Coriander leaves - 1 tablespoon (chopped)
Oil - 4-5 tablespoon.
Instructions
1. Take 5 small eggplants or brinjals, wash them thoroughly. Cut it from the base in a way that it remains joined from the side of the stem, it will ensure that they are cooked thoroughly (see picture).
2. Now turn on the flame in medium heat and put on a pan. Add oil to the pan and put eggplants in it, cover the lid.
3. After 5-6 minutes open the lid and stir the eggplant and cook them properly from all the sides by turning them over, after they will cook, they should look like as pictured.
4. Turn off the heat and put cooked eggplants aside on a plate.
5. Turn on the heat in medium flame and put on another pan. Add sesame seeds, peanuts, and sliced coconut and roast them until you start to get the aroma of all. It will take 5-6 minutes.
6. After roasting, put sesame seed, peanut and coconut inside the blender with 1/4 cup water and make a fine paste.
7. Now you have a fine paste of your gravy and shallow fry eggplants ready for your baghar-e-baingan.
8. Heat oil in a pan in medium flame, add heeng, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds in the oil. Once the mustard and cumin seeds start to splatter, add curry leaves into it along with chopped onion and ginger garlic paste.
9. Keep stirring until the onion becomes translucent and all the raw smell of ginger garlic paste is gone. It will take 5-6 minutes.
10. Now add turmeric powder, salt, and fine paste of gravy in it. Add 2 cups of water and let the gravy cook for 9-10 minutes in medium heat.
11.Now add red chili powder, Garam Masala, and coriander powder into the roasted masala gravy.
12 After 2 minutes, add our shallow fried eggplants to the aromatic gravy.
13. After 5 minutes, add Imali paste to the gravy and mix it well. Turn off the flame once all the ingredients are finely cooked with eggplant- around after 5 minutes.
Baghar-E-Baigan is now ready to serve.
Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or Roti/Chapati.
