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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Baigun Bhaja

Baigun bhaja is a fried, yummy dish, which serves as an accompaniment to rice - dal meal in Bengali households. "Bhaja" literally means deep fried and the common vegetables used to prepare bhajas are eggplants, potatoes, pumpkins or parval. There are several spice laden versions online with besan / poppy seeds / rice flour / sooji coatings. However after going through recipes online by Bengali cooks, I realized that this is supposed to be a simple delicacy. The eggplants are marinated just in a simple, salt-turmeric mixture and are deep fried.
I eat eggplants but not a great fan of them. This one however was particularly hard to resist. Earlier I had tried a chili powder smeared version too and it was a mess. The spice mixture seeps into the oil and particularly the chili powder keeps scorching in the oil while frying. This version was simple and sensible. If one prefers to eat it spicy, they can sprinkle some chili powder after the frying is done. 

Method: 
* Wash the eggplants and wipe them dry. Slice them into thick rounds or vertically. Smear them with a small quantity of turmeric and salt and keep them aside for about 10 minutes.
* Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Traditionally, mustard oil is used but I used canola oil here. Gently slide the slices into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Drain on absorbent towels and serve them warm.




18 comments:

Varada's Kitchen said...

I make a pan fried version of this dish. Your fried eggplant looks really good.

Priya Suresh said...

One of the famous Bengali dish, cholar dal and baigun bhaja makes a prefect pair, they came out simply prefect.

The Pumpkin Farm said...

this is on my to do list and yours looks lovely too..had a great run this mega marathon with you Suma, wanted to tell many times earlier, this month the pictures on your site have improved so much...they were always good but now they are even better, keep up the good work

Suhasini said...

my favorite.Yummy with Khichori.Miss my Kolkta days

Vimitha Durai said...

My mom used to make this before... love it with curd rice

Vimitha Durai said...

My mom used to make this before... love it with curd rice

vaishali sabnani said...

This is a very popular dish among Sindhi houses. .called Tariyal Vangan..you have done an awesome job with this one.
Its been great reading your recipes during the marathon. .One better than the other.

Harini R said...

Looks good. My older one will surely love this. I typically bake it for her whenever she has a craving for it (provided she preps them as well :) )

Unknown said...

that should be sinfully delicious.. love the simplicity of the dish!!

Srivalli said...

Suma, can't believe you managed to manage so well with cooking during the marathon, great job...enjoyed each of your posts as always..it was great doing it with you along..this is such a lovely dish..

Pavani said...

I tried broiling eggplant for baingun bhaja a while back, your version looks delicious.

jayanthi said...

i love grilled eggplants.. these look yummy

cookingwithsapana said...

I like eggplants in any form ! Lovely and wonderful ....

Nalini's Kitchen said...

Nice one,looks great...

Usha said...

My aunt makes something similar but she sprinkles lots of Andhra spice mixture. I use to like it a lot. For some reason she stopped making it. I think I will like this baigun bhaja.

Padmajha said...

Nice choice of dish! And I made something similar and added it to raita!
And it was great doing this marathon with you Suma :)

Archana said...

This looks better than the pan fried one that I make.
Awesome ! I enjoyed the marathon with you Suma.

Nisha said...

Wow Thats a nice dish. Crispy seasoned eggplants must be delicious..