For a Hyderabadi, Baghare Baingan is a lot. It is a taste of home, a must at parties and celebrations and a dish so uniquely Hyderabadi that it has become a culinary symbol of the city along with kachche gosht ki biryani. So this post on Baghare Baingan is my (long-awaited) tribute to the city’s wonderfully rich food culture.
How to choose and prepare the eggplants
The eggplant, aubergine or brinjal, or baingan (Hindi), is considered a simple vegetable. It is available in different sizes and colors, ranging from white to various shades of green and purple. For making Baghare Baingan, the small, deep purple variety, also called Nagpur baingan, is the perfect choice. Select medium-sized, plump eggplants that are glossy purple, without brown spots and small black holes (usually indicative of worms inside). Wash them thoroughly in lightly salted water, pat dry and make two slits lengthwise, up to three-quarters of the way, up to 5 cm in front of the stem. This makes the eggplant ‘open’ and can be filled with masala. Leave the stem on, it looks nice and makes it easy to pick up the stuffed eggplant.
Lifting the eggplant
What makes Baghare Baingan unique is the creamy, nutty, sweet, tangy, tangy masala. Don’t be put off by the long list of masala ingredients. The result of your efforts will be a complex flavor combination with a rich base of coconut, peanuts, poppy seeds and white sesame seeds, infused with the earthy scents of coriander, fenugreek and cumin, a hint of heat from red chili powder, the sweetness of cane sugar and the sourness of tamarind. You may think there’s a lot going on, but you’re right, but the balance of flavors in this dish is the beauty of it. It has a rounded completeness of salty, sweet, spicy and sour that makes it finger licking delicious. Your fingers can (in a good way) take a hint of this robust, delicious dish long after you polish it off.
Baghare Baingan
Stuffed eggplants in a creamy, sweet and sour spicy sauce
For the masala paste
- 2 tablespoon copra or dried coconut, grated
- 3 teaspoon white sesame seeds
- 1½ tablespoon raw peanuts
- 2 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoon cumin seed
- 2½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ½ tablespoon chili powder (cayenne pepper)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 1 inch cinnamon sticks
- Salty
- 500 G small to medium eggplants, washed in salt water, dried and quartered lengthwise, from the bottom, leaving the stem intact
- 1½ tablespoon cane sugar powder or crumbled
- 1¼ teaspoon garlic pasta
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 50 G onion, finely chopped
- 1¼ tablespoon thick tamarind pulp
- 4 tablespoon gingelly oil or other vegetable oil
- Water as needed
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To make the masala paste, dry roast the coconut (over low heat) and add the peanuts, sesame seeds, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, mustard, poppy seeds and cinnamon. Make sure they don’t burn.
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Let the roasted spices cool and grind them together with the turmeric and chili powder, the cane sugar and the salt into a smooth paste.
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Fill the masala into the sliced ​​eggplants and set the remaining masala aside.
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Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat, add the onions and fry until soft. then add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for 20 seconds until the raw smell disappears,
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Add the remaining oil and place the eggplants in a single layer in the pan. Fry until lightly browned on all sides, turning to obtain an even color.
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Then mix the remaining masala with the tamarind pulp, more salt and a little (50 ml) water and pour over the aubergines. Cover and cook for about 7-8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but not overcooked. The sauce or gravy should be thick and creamy.
