Begun Bhaja Recipe - Bengali Style Fried Eggplant

The recipe for Begun Bhaja and Beguni Bhaja is often linked to traditional bengali cuisine, evoking feelings of comfort and nostalgia and are classics that bring with them a sense of familiarity and warmth.

Be it khichdi, pulao or white rice, two pieces of fried eggplant with a slice of lemon. That's it, nothing else is needed on the menu. As much as eating eggplant as a vegetable is fun, there is no shortage of eggplant recipes full of various nutrients. Fried, stuffed or with fish in broth. Eggplant is considered a delicacy to satisfy Bengali tastes.

Bengalis like fried eggplant the most. Many people face a problem in this regard. Eggplant gets soggy after being fried. Then it doesn't look very pretty, nor is it fun to eat. However, you can make crispy fried eggplant using one ingredient.

Begun Bhaja is a crunchy and tasty side dish, easy to prepare and ideal for any occasion. Begun Bhaja is a versatile and delicious recipe with which we can enjoy all the flavor of this vegetable. Easy to prepare, they can be served in many ways and also used as an ingredient in more elaborate recipes.

If it's true that everything tastes better when fried, fried brinjals are definitely one of the brinjal recipes to try. To prepare them, we only need a very short time. We wash them, cut them into slices and then fry them in plenty of mustard oil. A pinch of salt as a seasoning at the end of cooking and our golden fried eggplants are ready to bring to the table!

We used elongated eggplants, so it was easy to get slices that were similar in size. If we prefer, we can also make fried eggplant cubes. Cut them into slices about a centimeter thick and then continue with a cut into cubes that are not too small.

We can prepare them if we are looking for easy and tasty vegetable side dishes. For perfect frying, a kitchen thermometer is very useful to check the temperature of the oil. If we don't have one, we use a toothpick. We put it in the oil, if bubbles form around the wood it means we can start frying. Above all, cook a few at a time, so that the temperature of the oil does not get too high and they do not absorb excess oil.

Begun Bhaja can be customized in many ways. For example, we can fry them, put them in a bowl and mix them together with salt and a pinch of chili powder. Eggplant already has an intense flavor and in this way we will make our side dish spicy.

Cheap, tasty, with their thousand types and their thousand varieties they always brighten up our table. And then they are so versatile that there really is an embarrassment of choice on how to use them.

I think that stuffed and fried eggplants are among the best things in the world! Well, eggplants are among my favorite vegetables and I like them done in all ways, but this version literally drives me crazy. This dish in my opinion is even better!

Stuffed and fried eggplants are a tasty appetizer, a culinary delight appreciated in many cuisines for a series of reasons related to the flavors, the consistency, and the versatility of the ingredients. I think that what makes this dish so irresistible is the contrast between the crunchy crust and the soft heart.

Frying gives the eggplants a very special texture. This play of consistencies makes each bite interesting and satisfying. The filling, often made of creamy ingredients such as cheese, ground meat or vegetables, adds a softness and richness of flavor that perfectly complements the crispy crust. Frying the eggplants also allows the natural sugars present in the vegetable to caramelize, enhancing their flavor and adding a slightly sweet and intense note. Did I tell you it was impossible to resist?

Everyone makes fried eggplant. But even that very simple dish has different ways of cooking it. In fact, the simplest dishes are often the most difficult to cook. Today you will also find a great recipe for fried eggplant. If you follow this simple rule, two things will happen. First, the eggplant will not get soggy immediately after frying. Second, the fried eggplant will taste better. By following a few simple rules, your fried eggplant will taste even better. Let's take a look at the simple method of frying eggplant.

Begun Bhaja images

Let's know the simple recipe-

Ingredients:

  • 1 eggplant
  • 1/2 cup of gram flour or rice flour
  • 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon of chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder
  • Salt as needed
  • Oil as needed

Method:

First cut the eggplant into rounds. Don't make it too thick. And not too thin either. To fry the eggplant in this method, you have to cut the eggplant like this. Then add salt and a little sugar to it. Don't be surprised by the sugar. This will not make the fried eggplant sweet. Rather, it will melt in the hot oil during cooking. It will 'caramelize' and help bring out the beautiful color of the fried eggplant.

Then mix some dry gram flour or rice flour, chili powder, turmeric powder in a bowl. There is no need to add water to it. Once the powder mixture is ready, spread it very well on the brinjal. As if a thin layer falls on the brinjal pieces. Press the powder on the brinjal pieces with your hands.

After adding salt, the eggplant will start to release water, so the dry mixture will easily adhere to the wet eggplant. Then heat the oil in a kadai or pan. Fry on medium heat. If the oil is not hot enough, the crunchiness will not be there. If it is too hot, the outside will burn and the inside will remain raw.

So it is better to fry on medium heat. Fry both sides. That's it, your hot fried eggplant is ready. It tastes much better than regular fried eggplant. And it stays crispy for a long time. It doesn't get soggy with oil. Definitely try frying eggplant like this.

Beguni Bhaja images

If you like fried aubergines to serve as a dish, for example as an appetizer or a side dish, then prepare them in the battered version which is called beguni bhaja in bengali.

Prepare the batter by mixing 200 g of gram flour and then add 150 g of water. Let it rest for a few minutes and in the meantime prepare the aubergine slices as explained previously.

Once ready, dip them a few at a time in the batter and fry them in hot oil. If you cut them into cubes or sticks it will be a little more difficult to keep them separate, so I suggest fairly thin slices.

 

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1 Comments
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Max Coutinho said…
Kalyan,

Superb recipe! My mouth is watering already and all...I love eggplant.

Anyway, thanks for sharing the recipe: you are trooper!

Cheers