Recipe - Hyderabadi baghara baingan

Recipe - Hyderabadi baghara baingan/Gutti vankaya kura

Eggplant cooked in gravy.

Summary:

Baghara Baingan is an integral part of all Hyderabadi weddings. Baghara Baingan is one of the signature dishes in Hyderabadi cuisine. The ingredients are carefully chosen and cooked to the right degree. Utmost attention is paid to picking the right kind of spices. It can be eaten with roti or as a side dish with Hyderabadi Biryani.

This recipe is passed on to my sister-in-law from my mom. My mom always cooked baghara baingan by estimation. My sister-in-law mastered this with measurements. I should say, my sister-in-law makes this curry very tasty and delicious (same taste with a perfect formula). My mom's curry taste may vary once in a while, but my bhabhi's curry taste's the same every time she makes it. Measurements play an important part in these authentic dishes.

Ingredients:

• Eggplant/Baingan - 10
• Tamarind- 2-3 pods (soaked in warm water)
• Curry leaves - 1 stalk(if you are not using mint)
• Oil - 2 tablespoons

Seeds mixture:

• Sesame seeds - 4 tablespoons
• Peanuts - 3 tablespoons
• Cumin seeds - 2 teaspoons
• Methi/Fenugreek seeds - 6 seeds
• Coconut powder - 4 tablespoons

Roast all the seeds seperately, sesame seeds, peanuts, cumin seeds, methi seeds. Grind roasted peanuts first, then grind rest of the roasted seeds and coconut powder together.

Wet Onion mixture:

• Onions - 1 big ( 1 and 1/2 cup chopped)
• Mint - 6 to 8 leaves(this is optional)
• Garlic - 3 pods
• Green chillies - 5 - 6 (according to taste)

Preheat oil in a pan at a medium high temperature, add green chillies and then onions. Fry the onions till golden brown, add mintcurry leaves and garlic pods and fry for 5 - 10 seconds. Turn off the stove, let the mixture cool, grind them to a thick paste adding some water.

Make 4 slits in the eggplants vertically. Microwave them by adding 1/2 tsp salt on high for 5 minutes.

Fry them in 2 tsps of oil till they are a little crispy. We can cut down on the oil and time by microwaving the eggplants before frying them in oil. Preheat the skillet with 1 tbsp of oil, add the wet onion mixture fry for 5 - 6 minutes. Add the roasted seeds mixture

Add 1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt (according to taste),turmeric powder,chilli powder(optional). Saute for 2 minutes, mix roasted seeds mixture and wet onion mixtures well. Add tamarind pulp. While adding the tamarind pulp add a little initially and increase according to taste as too much pulp would change the flavor. Add 2 cups of water to get the desired consistency to the gravy.

Finally add eggplants to the gravy. Cook the eggplants in the gravy for 8-10 minutes, make sure egg plant is cooked well and the spices are all mixed well.

Garnish with cilantro.You can eat baghara baigan with biryani, roti or plain rice.

Preparation time: 30 - 45 minutes
# Servings: 2 - 4

Recipe by: Preeti