bagara baingan recipe with step by step photos – bagara baingan is a delicious dish made with small aubergines. it is a popular vegetarian recipe from the hyderabadi cuisine and goes very well with biryani varieties or rotis or rice. this brinjal gravy is often made to serve as a side dish with biryani.
india is a country with multi cuisines. we all know that the north indian cuisine is different from south indian cuisine, but even the cuisines of the different parts of south india are different from each other. you see the cuisine of karnataka is different from the kerala cuisine.
even amongst the same states there are many differences. one such state is andhra pradesh. and it has both the andhra cuisine and the hyderabadi cuisine and they both are very different from each other. thanks to the nizams of hyderabad who have invented this rich cuisine – the hyderabadi cuisine is very popular in india as well as outside india too.
the faded memory of learning to make bagara baingan in my home science course days – is just that – faded. i had forgotten the existence of this recipe till a few years back one of my hyderabadi office colleagues told me about the recipe – again it disappeared into oblivion.
the bagara baingan recipe came to my head after a long long gap, when i had some fresh small aubergines (baingans) with me and did not know which style to cook it. the punjabi way or the goan way.
finally a book came to my help and i adapted this recipe from the chandra padmanabhan’s cookbook “simply south: traditional vegetarian cooking”. this book
has many good recipes. varieties of south indian sambar, rasam and vegetable & rice recipes. it also covers our regulars idli, masala dosa and chutneys plus some south indian snacks and sweets. a few recipes i tried from this book and they were very good.
the bagara baingan recipe was very good and came out very well. bagara baingan goes well with biryani or rotis or rice. this hyderabadi baingan recipe and the goan/konkani recipe of stuffed brinjal has 3 of my favorite ingredients in them: coconut, sesame seeds, peanuts.
how to make bagara baingan
1. rinse 250 grams small sized baingan (aubergines or brinjal) 2 to 3 times in water.
2. quarter the baingans (aubergines or brinjal) and soak them in salted water for 15-20 minutes. drain the baingan after 15-20 minutes.
3. meanwhile take the following spices – 2 tablespoons raw peanuts, 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon poppy seeds, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 inch cinnamon stick, 2 to 3 cloves, 1 tejpatta (indian bay leaf), ½ teaspoon whole peppercorns, ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (shahi jeera) and 1 to 2 black cardamoms.
4. heat a pan and keep the flame to a low. add all the spices. stir and begin to saute them. saute them till they become aromatic and light brown.
5. when the spices become light brown, add 2 tablespoon desiccated coconut to it.
6. roast the spices with the coconut. a lovely aroma of the roasted spices and coconut will fill your kitchen. keep stirring non-stop.
7. roast till the coconut becomes light golden.
8. once the spices + coconut mixture cools down, then add this mixture to the grinder.
9. also add 1 medium to large sized onion (or ½ cup chopped onion), 1 inch chopped ginger, 4 to 5 chopped garlic cloves, 2 to 3 chopped green chilies, 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves and 1 tablespoon tightly packed seedless tamarind in the grinder. for less sourness, add ½ tbsp tightly packed tamarind. grind to a smooth paste with ½ to ⅔ cup water.
cooking eggplant
10. in a pan heat 2 tablespoons oil and add the baingan (eggplant or aubergines).
11. next add salt as required.
12. saute on sim or low flame for 10 to 12 minutes.
13. this is how the baingan looks after 12 minutes. the baingan should become tender. with a knife check the doneness. the knife should slid easily through the baingan.
14. remove the cooked baingan and place aside.
making bagara baingan
15. in another pan or in the same pan heat 1 tablespoon oil.
16. add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and let them splutter.
17. add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder. mix well. keep the flame to a low, so that the turmeric powder does not burn.
18. now add the ground masala paste and begin to saute it.
19. continue sauteing the masala paste.
20. this is how the masala paste looks after sauteing for 10 minutes.
21. saute the paste for about 9 to 10 minutes or till the oil starts to release from the sides.
22. now add 1.5 cups water.
23. stir and mix well.
24. add more salt as required.
25. add the cooked baingan to the gravy.
26. stir and mix well. simmer for 6 to 7 minutes more or till the gravy thickens.
27. you should see oil floating on the top.
28. check the taste of brinjal gravy and add more salt if required. add 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves. mix well.
29. serve bagara baingan hot with rotis, phulkas, parathas, pooris or rice or biryani. this brinjal gravy goes very well as a side dish with biryani.
- brinjal sambar – a quick and delicious south indian sambar made with small brinjals.
- baingan masala – delicious brinjal curry. accompanies chapati, rotis and biryanis very well.
- gutti vankaya – a stuffed brinjal dish from the andhra cuisine.
- ennai kathirikai kulambu – a gravy based brinjal dish from the tamil nadu cuisine.
Bagara Baingan
INGREDIENTS
for curry
- 250 grams small baingans (aubergines or eggplant)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1.5 cups water
- salt as required
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
for masala paste
- 1 medium to large onion, chopped or ½ cup chopped onion
- 4 to 5 garlic cloves chopped - optional OR 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 inch ginger, chopped OR 2 teaspoons chopped ginger
- 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
- 2 tablespoons raw peanuts
- 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds (khus khus)
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 inch sticks of cinnamon
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 1 tej patta (indian bay leaf)
- ½ teaspoon peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (shah jeera)
- 1 to 2 black cardamom
- 1 tablespoon tightly packed seedless tamarind
- 2 to 3 green chillies, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves, chopped (cilantro leaves)
- ½ to ⅔ cup water, for grinding
INSTRUCTIONS
making masala paste
- heat a tava and roast the following spices - 2 tablespoon raw peanuts, 2 tablespoon white sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon poppy seeds, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 inch cinnamon stick, 2 to 3 cloves, 1 tejpatta (indian bay leaf), ½ teaspoon whole peppercorns, ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (shahi jeera) and 1 to 2 black cardamoms.
- when the spices become a light brown, add dry coconut to it.
- roast the spices with the coconut. a lovely aroma of the roasted spices and coconut will fill your kitchen.
- roast till the coconut gets light golden.
- once the spices + coconut mixture cools down, then add this mixture in a grinder. also add chopped onion, ginger, garlic, green chilies, coriander leaves and tamarind .
- grind to a smooth paste with some water.
cooking eggplant
- quarter the baingan (eggplant) and soak them in salted water for 15-20 minutes.
- drain after 15-20 minutes. in a pan heat 2 tbsp oil and add the baingan and 1 teaspoon salt. saute over low fire for 8-10 minutes.
- the baingan should become tender.
making bagara baingan
- in another pan or in the same pan heat the remaining oil. add cumin seeds and let them splutter.
- add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi).
- now add the masala paste and start to saute it.
- continue sauteing the masala paste.
- saute the paste for about 9 to 10 minutes or till the oil starts to release from the sides.
- now add 1.5 cups water. mix well and then add the cooked baingan.
- simmer for 6 to 7 minutes or till the gravy thickens and you see oil floating on top.
- check the taste of the gravy and add more salt if required. add coriander leaves and mix well.
- serve bagara baingan hot with rotis, phulkas, parathas, pooris or rice or biryani. this brinjal gravy goes very well as a side dish with biryani.
Great recipe! I spent several years in India and miss the good: your recipes are the closest to what I use to eat there. Thank you for sharing them 🙂
welcome nadia and thank you ????
Hi dassana,
Can we add baingans towards the end directly & cook? Or they won’t cook nicely then?
ruchi, you can do this way also. but then baingan will take more time to cook. so you will need to add more water in the gravy. so cover and let the gravy cook. here you will need to check after 3 to 4 minutes as the masala can stick to the pan if not attended. so give a stir after every 3 to 4 minutes. add water as required.
Wonderful recipe, love the way you explain in steps with photos, makes it so much easier!!! keep up the good work 🙂
thanks deepthi 🙂 for your kind words and positive views.
Hi there,
What do you mean by a lemon-sized tamarind ball? What is the equivalent amount of tamarind paste in a jar?
a lemon sized tamarind ball is about 1 tablespoon of tightly packed tamarind. if using tamarind paste, the just add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon.
Hi
What is shah jeera, and can I skip peanuts?
shahjeera is caraway seeds. peanuts are essential in this recipe.
Is it compulsory to add tamarind?
yes tamarind is an essential ingredient. it gives what we call in hindi “khataas” in this recipe. if you add any other souring ingredient like lemon juice or dry mango powder, the taste will not be same.
Hi Dassana Amitji,
Thanks a lot for your valuable recipies! All are just awasome n very easy to understand. Your site is very useful. Its much more elaborated n well to understand because of your stepwise photos…so we can get to know correctly that we are on right track 🙂
Im newly married n by profession as a Doctor….so unfortunately Im having very less time for cooking n impress my in laws…even though I love cooking since childhood. So a big thanks to you ….because of your rightly stated measurements n important tips my every recipie got lots of appreciations!! And yesss…Im enjoying cooking more as a hobby now..:) I tried ‘Bagara baingan’yesterday night. It was superb everyone enjoyed it!
Thanks again n please keep updating us by your new recipies 🙂
hi arti. thanks for this long and wonderful feedback. all the best for your future life. i can understand being a doctor is demanding and cooking does take a backseat. i will update recipes. i have some in the drafts too that i will add in some time. thanks once again.
Hi Dassana and Amit…i m always hooked to your website nd this has become like a favourite past time activity for me. I have tried a few of your recipes nd needless to say, they were an instant hit with my family. I like the way u explain ur recipes which is why they turn out v well even when v cook them. U reply to all the queries which motivates us to keep cooking nd correct ourselves. Also, i like the way you take the negative feedback in your stride which is rare to see these days.
Dassana, i hv one question with regards to this receipe. Can v use fresh grated coconut in place of dessicated one. The look of the recipe reminds me of the baingan i used eat in our canteen, which was my favourite. Pl reply soon so that i can start off with the recipe before the baingans in my fridge turn rot.
firstly thanks amrita for the kind feedback. we do try to answer the queries always. sometimes we do get rude and insane comments, which we delete and do not reply too 🙂
yes you can use fresh grated coconut. the taste will be a bit different like the fresh coconut gravies. use the same amount of fresh coconut. you can reduce the amount of tamarind, if you do not prefer sour taste.
hi dassana,
the recipe is very good. but can you tell me when to add onions?
onions are added while making the paste, along with ginger, garlic etc.
I am newly wed and trying to impress my husband with new dishes. Your site is very helpful. I have tried many recipes from your site. They are easy to understand, measurements are perfect. If you are interested i can share you traditional tamilnadu recipes, you can post them. Thank you
thanks krithi. yes you can share the recipe. a few readers do share the recipes. then i try the recipe in my kitchen and then post the recipe. you can email me at vegrecipesofindia(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Very nice way to teach. With plcs.
Very precise explanation with photos of spices too… Well done!!
thanks
superb …..
We tried this to-day and it turned out to be SUPER. Real Hyderabadi Bagara Baingan. thank you for your free sharing of the recipe. We will try out the others. The beauty of your naration is the easy and simple explanation. The pictures at each stage helps to come to a decision that we are on track comparing our product with the one in the picture. In fact your pics are so graphic and life like,
it looks life like and crystal clear.Hats off for the quality of your pics. Thank you More in next.
bagara baingan is very tasty
Very nice way of explaining the recipe with photos. The recipe looks good. Great.