Begun Bhaja
Bengali dish with pan fried eggplant coated in spices
Ingredients
- 1 medium-size eggplant / brinjal long fat variety
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- Pinch of sugar
- Salt to taste
- Mustard oil or vegetable oil to shallow fry
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry the eggplant. Cut into round slices of about ½-inch thickness.
- In a bowl, mix turmeric powder, sugar and salt. Add eggplant and toss well. Place the eggplant slices on a plate and set aside for 5-6 minutes.
- In a large pan, heat oil. Place the eggplant slices and fry both sides until crispy and golden brown. Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
Notes
- You can spice up the eggplants by adding red chilly powder and garam masala.
- Use fat and long variety eggplants (the one used to make bhartha). You can also try with round purple brinjals but choose ones with less seeds
- Do not slice the brinjal too thin. It will cook fast and will not turn crisp. If you cut it too thick, it will take more time to cook.
- Eggplants absorb lot of oil. To reduce the oil consumption, you can coat the slices lightly with rice flour.