Khayan Thee Sipyan - Burmese Eggplant Curry

 

Khayan Thee Sipyan

Long cuts of eggplant combined with crab sauce, are simmered to a delectable softness nestled in a piquant gravy of sweet, sour and umami aromas and taste. If crab paste is not available, shrimp powder can be substituted.

Serve with hot, steamed rice, as a side dish. 

Achari Begun - Pickled Eggplant

 

Achari Begun

Here's another tasty way to prepare eggplant. The internet is a prolific source for recipes, and this was featured in a video by Banglar Rannaghor. One modification I made was to use imli chutney in place of tamarind paste. A technique that impressed me was to toss and marinate the eggplant pieces with spices and 2-3 tablespoons of water before frying. This made a big difference in the time it took for the eggplant pieces to brown without absorbing a vast quantity of oil.

I used a big globe eggplant that was cut in half and sliced. Any variety of eggplant would work for this recipe, so use whatever is at hand. Serve as a side dish, accompanied by any Indian bread or hot, steamed rice.

Bachu's Begun Panch Phoron - Eggplant Flavoured with 5 Spices

Begun Panch Phoron

My brother sent me this photograph of his Begun Panch Phoron. The five spices are cumin, fennel, nigella, mustard and fenugreek seeds. These seeds are sputtered in oil for tempering and more are later roasted and ground to add flavour to the stir-fried eggplants. Cut the eggplants in bite-sized pieces. Bachu cut them in long pieces. I diced mine.

Here is my dish.

Deem Begun Bhaja - Fried Eggplant Omelette

Deem Begun Bhaja

The texture and size of purple globe eggplant are best suited to this recipe. Begun bhaja or fried eggplant slices round out any Bengali meal and here's another preparation to add to my repertoire. Add ground meat to the omelette ingredients and it could make a main dish.It reminds me of a California sunrise in which a circle is cut out of the center of a piece of toast, filled with a cracked egg and fried. 

Oven-Baked Begun Bhaja

Oven-Baked Eggplant

Frying eggplant on the stove top consumes a lot of oil. The eggplant acts like a sponge and soaks up the oil almost on contact. I prefer to bake the eggplant until it turns golden brown. I learned the scoring method from a 'foodie' on Facebook which ensures thick slices of eggplant bake evenly all the way through. I've cut Indian eggplants in half which work well in this recipe.

Eggplant Salad with Yogurt Dressing

Begun-er Raita

Raita is an Indian side dish or salad of yogurt containing chopped cucumber or other vegetables and spices. It is usually served alongside rich dishes like biryani, pulao or with kababs. The yogurt dressing helps to tone down spicy dishes, soothing the palate with its creaminess. Greek yogurt is a good option, as opposed to regular unflavoured yogurt, because it is already drained of its whey, making it thick and creamy.

Cutting the eggplants into thick rondelles and lightly frying them preserves the integrity and texture of the vegetable, otherwise eggplants tend to break down easily and turn mushy. Marinating the rondelles of eggplant with salt and powdered spices like turmeric, fennel and Kashmiri mirch (paprika) serves to saturate the eggplants with flavor from the inside out.

To keep the yogurt dressing from curdling or separating, it is added and stirred into the eggplants after removing the skillet from the heat source. This salad tastes best if it is chilled in the refrigerator prior to serving.

Begun Alu Posto - Eggplant & Potatoes in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Begun Alu Posto

Alu Posto is a favourite Bengali preparation and adding eggplants to it makes it creamier and more delicious. Japanese eggplants are practically seedless which makes it a good choice in this dish.

White poppy seeds, soaked in boiling water and ground with salt until thick and creamy is best served for lunch because it induces a restful afternoon nap. I love posto stir-fried with any vegetable. Add shrimp to it for boosted flavour and call it a main dish.

Begun Pora - Roasted Eggplant Salad

Begun Pora

Eggplant is probably the best loved vegetable (or fruit?) in our family. My son, especially, can have it everyday, cooked in countless ways. On this blog alone, I have tagged this vegetable at least 25 times, each recipe unique from the rest.

Whole Roasted Eggplant

Begun (eggplant) Pora (burnt) gets its name from the way in which this dish is prepared. Using the big globe eggplant, slits are made on the bottom opposite the stalk end, rubbed with oil and baked in a 400*F oven for 30 minutes or so. Turning the eggplant occasionally, it is baked until the skin appears singed and wrinkled and the center is soft when tested for doneness. Alternatively, it can be charred over an open gas flame or placed on an iron skillet on the stovetop and grilled. After it comes to room temperature, the skin is removed and the pulp is hand-mixed with salt and mustard oil along with diced onions, green chilies and cilantro. It is served as a salad or first course in a meal, and is eaten with steamed rice.

Boy or Girl?

Look for a firm, glossy skin and pick the lightest eggplant in the pile. The heavier ones have more seeds and could be bitter to the taste. A good clue to picking a practically seedless eggplant is to check the bellybutton at the bottom. Pick the one with the roundest navel (boy eggplant) as opposed to an elongated navel (girl eggplant). Believe it or not, eggplant(s?) are not gender-neutral and the boy eggplant is better for eating because it has less seeds.

Sambar - Tangy Yellow Split Peas Cooked with Vegetables

Sambar

Sambar is a South-Indian dish of lentils & vegetables that is usually fiery & spicy and I love it. Hubby, however, can't tolerate spicy food so when I cook this at home it is much milder with the spices toned down several notches, which is why I refer to it as Bengali or simple sambar. This dish is generally made with toor dal or yellow split pigeon peas, and any vegetables you have on hand.

Red Snapper in Mustard & Coconut Sauce

Maacher Jhaal

My most favourite way to prepare fish is to steam it in a mustard gravy, but this was cooked on the stove-top. The ground mustard was mixed with coconut milk which made the gravy thick and creamy.

Any variety of fish can be prepared in this way. I've used red snapper here and in the past have made this with filleted and bone-in tilapia, catfish and shrimp. The shrimp tasted delicious!

Best served with basmati rice, this serves as a main course, accompanied by a vegetable and dal.

Eggplant & Sweet Potatoes in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Misti Alu Begun Posto

White poppy seed sauce (posto) is one of my favourite dressings to use on stir-fried vegetables. This type of sauce gives any vegetable a thick and creamy gravy. White poppy seeds have a calming effect, is best eaten with hot and steamy rice, followed by a long mid-afternoon nap.

Grilled Eggplant - Begun Bhaja

George Foreman Grill-ed Eggplant

A favourite side dish on the Bengali table, Begun Bhaja (Eggplant Fried) gets a new twist and healthy makeover with the use of a George Foreman Grill (GFG).

The eggplant slices are cut, making sure they are of even thickness, and smeared with olive oil, salt and turmeric powder. 

They are then grilled for 2 minutes on each side and voila! you have Begun Bhaja for lunch!

Begun Bhaja is generally made by tossing them with salt and turmeric, pan-frying on the stovetop and draining on paper towels. Grilling them requires very little oil and the eggplant slices could even be sprayed with something like Pam spray. In fact, spraying the GF Grill with Pam makes it easier to clean. 

Contrary to common belief, the GFG is really easy to clean by wetting a paper towel, placing it on the grill, closing the cover and turning the grill on for a few minute. The steam that is released cleans the debris and a quick swipe removes the rest. 

Crockpot Begun Bhartha - Slow-Cooked Eggplant

Slow-Cooked Begun Bhartha

I was first introduced to Baingan/Begun Bhartha while living in Defence Colony, a suburb of New Delhi in India. Around the corner from where we lived was a dhaba or roadside restaurant which are most often found on highways and the outskirts of cities, towns and villages. Dhabas serve Punjabi food and are frequented by truckers because the food is generally simple, rustic and cheap. My favourite dishes to order from our neghbourhood dhaba were Baingan Bhartha, Keema Mattar and Naan. 

Begun or baingan is eggplant and bhartha refers to any vegetable that is roasted and mashed. Begun bhartha is the most common dish prepared in this way. The big and round eggplants are usually roasted over an unoon or charcoal stove. The charred skin is then removed, the pulp mashed and cooked with tomatoes, onions along with other ingredients on the stovetop. It's a rustic dish that requires a labour-intensive and time-consuming process.

This is where the crockpot, once again, comes to the rescue. I like Japaness eggplant which is diced along with all the other vegetables, dumped into the crockpot and allowed to cook on low without manual intervention for 3-4 hours. The resulting bhartha comes out looking like baba-ghanoush and tasting delicious!

Eggplant in Oyster Sauce

Eggplant in Oyster Sauce

Another favourite at Chinese restaurants, this eggplant dish is simple to make at home. 

Japanese Eggplant

In my opinion, Japanese eggplants are sweeter and tastier than other varieties and are now available at all supermarkets. 

The ingredient list is short and should be available locally. The oyster sauce is salty, so do a taste-test before adding more salt.

Vegetarians and vegans can substitute diced tofu for minced chicken and mushroom sauce for oyster sauce.

Begun Pora - Bengali Roasted Eggplant Salad

Eggplant is a favourite vegetable (or fruit?) among Bengali people who reside in West Bengal in India and Bangladesh. For this salad, the big, purple eggplant works best. The way I pick one is to look for a tight and blemish-free skin. I then weigh an eggplant in each hand and pick the lightest one. Tapping the eggplant with a finger should produce a hollow sound. Eggplants that are huge and heavy are full of seeds which are annoying to eat.

I find it easiest to cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, rub some oil over the surface and cut sides, lay them face down on a greased cookie sheet and bake them at a high temperature for 20-25 minutes. This cooks the core to a soft and silky pulp that should ideally be hand-mixed with the listed ingredients. The more traditional way is to place a flat cast-iron pan (tawa) on the stove and char the eggplant over a low flame, turning it over and around every now and then.

Mustard oil is a must & provides a lovely pungent flavour to this salad. It is readily available in Indian markets outside India. In our household, a dried red chili is held with tongs over an open flame to char all over and then mashed into the salad. This adds an unbeatable smoky flavour. A word of caution - make sure to turn it around, not allowing the chili to burn or catch fire because that will have everyone at home coughing and crying their eyes out! 

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, cut in half lengthwise
1 + 2 Tbsp. mustard oil
1 hot green chili, diced and/or 1 toasted dried red chili, crushed
1 small onion, diced
1 handful cilantro, chopped
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400*F, grease a cookie sheet and wash the eggplant.
2. Cut eggplant lengthwise, prick skin with a fork & rub with 1 Tbsp. oil.
3. Place eggplant, cut-side down, on greased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes until peel appears wrinkled and charred.
5. Remove eggplant halves from oven and set aside to cool.
6. Scoop flesh away from peel and discard the peel.
7. Coarsely chop eggplant and hand-mix with remaining ingredients.

Serve with hot, steamed Basmati rice.

Begun Bhaja - Pan-Fried Eggplant Slices

Begun Bhaja

The people of Bengal in India are very fond of eggplant. The big & round eggplant are the most common variety found in India. The long & thin oriental eggplant are, in my opinion, sweeter and have less seeds. Cut down the center vertically and then cut into four pieces, they are tossed with turmeric and salt and left to rest for 10 minutes before pan-frying. Covering the skillet while they fry allows steam to collect in the pan which cooks the eggplant faster without using much oil. I find that oriental eggplants use less oil to brown than the round varieties.

Begun bhaja is had as part of a daily meal as well as a starter for a festive meal. It's quick & easy to prepare and should be pan-fried just before the meal is served.

Eggplant in Yogurt Sauce

Doi Begun

I used Japanese eggplants for this recipe, but any type of eggplant will do. During my years of cooking eggplant, I've noticed that if it is chopped prior to cooking, it helps retain its shape better if the pieces of eggplant are marinated in salt and set aside in a sieve in the sink for half an hour. Especially if the skin is left intact, eggplant tend to be somewhat bitter and the marination in salt eliminates this tendency. 

Greek yogurt imparts a creamy texture to the gravy in this dish. The yogurt should be taken out of the refrigerator and brought to room temperature before cooking. It also needs to be whipped well and added to the hot pan after reducing the heat to low, one tablespoon at a time and mixed into the gravy with each addition. The yogurt is added a tablespoon at a time so that it does not separate. Be very gentle when adding the yogurt so that the pieces of eggplant do not disintegrate.

Tahina Baingan - Stir-Fried Eggplant with Toasted Sesame Seed Paste

Baba Ghanoush and Baingan Bharta are some of my favourite eggplant dishes. Here I have combined the two and it tastes wonderful. The tahina or toasted sesame seed paste adds a creaminess and rich flavour to this dish. Tahina is apparently the same as tahini. The only difference I could see is that tahina is light brown in colour and tahini is white. I found the tahina in a Middle Eastern grocery store.

Tangra Maacher Begun Jhol

Tangra is of the catfish family
Any small whole fish can be used

In West Bengal, India, tangra comes to the fish market live, just like koi (climbing perch) and magur maach (catfish). All of these fish are believed to have recuperative qualities. They are prepared in very light gravies when consumed in hot weather. This is a particularly easy preparation because all the ingredients are mixed together and simmered until the oil resurfaces.

Stir-Fried Bitter Melon, Eggplant & Daikon Radish

Karola Begun Mulo Bhaja

Bengalis generally begin their midday meal with bitter melon which can be prepared in many different ways. I usually combine 3, 5 or 7 vegetables. Today the bitter melon is stir-fried along with oriental eggplant and daikon radish. It's a simple dish, seasoned only with salt and a splash of mustard oil.