uniquely Hyderabadi that along with kachche gosht ki biryani, it has become a culinary symbol of the city. So this post on Baghare Baingan is my (long overdue) homage to the deliciously rich food culture of the city.
How to choose and prepare the eggplants
The eggplant, aubergine or brinjal, or baingan (Hindi), is considered to be a humble vegetable. It comes in different sizes and colours ranging from white to different shades of green and purple. To make Baghare Baingan, the small, deep purple variety, sometimes referred to as Nagpur baingan is the perfect choice. Select medium-sized, plump eggplants that are a glossy purple without brown spots and tiny black holes (usually indicative of worms inside). Wash them thoroughly in lightly salted water, pat them dry and make 2 slits lengthwise, extending three quarters of the length, stopping 5 cms short of the stalk. This way, the eggplant is ‘open’ and can be stuffed with masala. Leave the stalk on, it looks good and makes it easy to pick up the stuffed eggplant.
Elevating the eggplant
What makes Baghare Baingan unique is its creamy, nutty, sweet, spicy, tangy masala. Don’t be put off by the long list of masala ingredients. The result of your efforts will be a complex flavour combination with a rich base of coconut, peanuts, poppy and white sesame seeds, infused with the earthy scents of coriander, fenugreek and cumin, a touch of heat from red-chilli powder, the sweetness of jaggery and the sourness of tamarind. You might think there’s a lot going on, well, you’re right, but the balance of flavours in this dish is its beauty. It has a rounded completeness of salty, sweet, spicy and sour that makes it finger-licking good. Your fingers may bear a hint (in a good way), of this robustly delicious dish long after you’ve polished it off.
Baghare Baingan
Ingredients
- 500 g small baingan (eggplants generally used for stuffing), slit crosswise halfway from the bottom, stalks left intact
- 100 g onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tamarind pulp (walnut-sized ball of dried tamarind soaked in 4-5 tbsps of warm water for an hour. mashed well and strained to extract the pulp)
- 4 tbsp gingelly oil
- Salt
For the masala
- 4 tbsp fresh coconut, grated
- 3 tbsp peanuts
- 3 tsp white sesame seeds (safed til)
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1½ tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp chilli powder (cayenne)
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1½ tbsp jaggery, powdered or crumbled
- 1 tsp garam masala
Instructions
- Heat a pan on a low flame and toast the peanuts . When they're lightly toasted, add the coconut and continue to toast till the coconut is lightly browned. Keep stirring to ensure that they don't burn.
- Put in the coriander, cumin and sesame seeds and toast for 2 more minutes. Take the pan off the heat and allow it to cool.
- When the mixture has cooled, transfer it to a blender/spice grinder along with the rest of the masala ingredients, a little salt and a couple of tablespoons of water (used as little water as possible, the masala has to be thick enough to stuff into the eggplants), and process to a paste.
- Use most of the paste to stuff into each eggplant. Set aside the rest to make the sauce / gravy.
- Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in the same pan on low-medium heat and fry the baingans, a few at a time, so that they are browned and half cooked. Set aside.
- In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and sauté the onions till translucent, add the remaining masala and cook for 30 seconds. Pour in the tamarind pulp and a little water to loosen the mixture to the consistency of a reasonably thick gravy (be careful not to add too much because it will dilute the flavours of the masala). Allow the sauce to come to a low simmer, then carefully put in the eggplants in a single layer so that they don't break. Cover and cook for 7-10 mins till the eggplants are just about cooked through and the rawness of the tamarind has disappeared. Do not let the baingan overcook and turn mushy. They must retain their shape.
- Taste to check the balance of sourness, sweetness and sourness, season if required and take off the heat.
Baghare Baingan
Ingredients
- 500 g small eggplant