Brinjals for Dummies series or 101 on brinjal curries should start with this Besan Baingan, I think. Sauteed brinjals coated with besan and spice mix make an excellent, easy to prepare curry. The ingredients list is not much and preparation time is minimum. Can be cooked in maximum 10 to 15 minutes, when you’ve all the ingredients ready to go. A must try for brinjal fans.
Brinjal Pieces in Water and Besan (Gram Flour)
Recipe:
12 small bulb shaped brinjals (purple or green)
4 tablespoons of besan (gram flour, sanaga pindi)
8 dried red chillies
1 Rupee coin sized ginger – grated or finely chopped
1 teaspoon each – sugar, cumin and turmeric
For popu or tadka: 1 tsp each – curry leaves, mustard seeds and oil
-¼ cup of roasted cashews.
(I’ve added the nuts but this is entirely optional. Besan Brinjal taste is impressive with or without cashews.)
Grind together – besan, dried red chillies, sugar and cumin to fine powder in a spice mill or mixie.
After removing the stems and sepals of brinjals, slice them into thin pieces lengthwise and drop them in salted water in a bowl (like shown above).
In a wide skillet, heat a tablespoon of peanut oil. Add and toast curry leaves and mustard seeds.
Remove brinjal pieces from water and add them directly to the skillet. Be ready for sizzling noise. Also add grated ginger. On medium-high heat, saute, turning often with a perforated ladle, so that they fry uniformly on both sides to a gold coloured tender pieces. Just before turning off the heat, stir in besan-spice mix along with salt and turmeric. Mix and fry for few more minutes until the sweet smell of besan permeates the kitchen. Sprinkle roasted cashews or nuts of your liking (watermelon/pumpkin/sunflower seeds – they all taste good with brinjal). Remove and serve hot with rice or with chapatis.
I think you’d be blown away by how good this curry tastes. So simple to make and a sure bet for a special meal.
Besan Baingan and Spinach Dal with Rice ~ To Weather the Winter Storm Today
Kitchen notes:
For this recipe the small round purple or green brinjals are best, being sweeter than any other varieties.
If you want, instead of directly adding, first roast the besan-spice mix slowly on another skillet while brinjals are cooking and then sprinkle this fragrant, warm besan-spice mix at the end.
