Begun Bhaja or Baingan Bhaja – marinated and fried eggplant/brinjal slices, a popular recipe from West Bengal.
Begun is the Bengali word for brinjal, and bhaja means fried. Baingan or begun bhaja is nothing but marinated and fried brinjal slices. Instead of deep-frying, I went with shallow frying.
The April month BM journey through cuisine’s taught me a lot of recipes from Bengal. I haven’t explored the cuisine of East India. So I did bookmark a few recipes, and also, I was asking my fellow bloggers for recipes from other states and bookmarked quite a lot. I can’t wait to try them. :-) I love this BM group, and I learn a lot from them. :-) Basically, this bhaja can be tried with any veggies. I know during April BM, Sapana posted aloo bhaja, and when I was looking for other recipes, I found this begun bhaja and tried it right away.
It’s a super simple recipe. All you need to do is slice the eggplant into thin rounds, marinate, and shallow fry. Traditionally the eggplants are fried in mustard oil, but I am going with regular sunflower oil. I did add mustard seed powder to compensate for that. I know it doesn’t justify but still added to get that mustard flavor. Without any delay, here is the Bengali fame Begun Bhaja.
Check out my other recipes from Bengal – Jhalmuri, Rasgulla, Moong Dal Kichuri.
Here are the first two brinjal recipe that I posted,
And here is the third one…
Ingredients
- Long Purple Brinjal / Eggplant – 1
- Red Chilli Powder – 2 tsps
- Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp
- Besan/Chick Pea Flour – 1 tbsp
- Mustard Seed Powder – 1 tsp
- Salt – 2 tsps
- Oil – for shallow frying
Prep Work
- Chop the eggplant into thin round slices.
- Wash them and pat them dry.
Steps
- Add the red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, chickpea flour, and mustard seed powder to the cleaned eggplant slices.
- Mix them well and let them sit for about 20 minutes.
- Heat a wide pan and add oil. Once it’s hot, turn the heat to medium.
- Once the oil is hot, add these marinated eggplant slices and cook until they turn brown and crisp. I cooked on one side for about 3 to 4 minutes and slowly flipped them and cooked until they turned brown. If required, add more oil.
- As my pan was wide, I add all my slices in one shot and shallow fried. Depending upon your pan size, fry them in batches.
That’s it. Begun Bhaja is ready. This goes well with roti and also rice recipes.
Recipe Notes
- Mustard oil is preferable for frying but opt for any oil of your choice.
- Mustard seed powder is optional.
- Adjust the red chili powder and salt according to your preference.
- Instead of chickpea flour, you can add rice flour too.
- You deep fry or bake these marinated slices.
📖 Recipe
Begun Bhaja | Bengali Style Fried Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 Long Purple Brinjal / Eggplant
- 2 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tbsp Besan/Chick Pea Flour
- 1 tsp Mustard Seed Powder
- 2 tsp Salt or to taste
- 4 tbsp Oil - for shallow frying
Instructions
Prep Work
- Chop the eggplant into thin round slices.
- Wash them and pat them dry.
Steps
- Add the red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, chickpea flour and mustard seed powder to the cleaned eggplant slices.
- Mix them well and let it sit for about 20 minutes.
- Heat a wide pan and add oil. Once its hot, turn the heat to medium.
- Once the oil is hot add these marinated eggplant slices and cook until they turn brown and crisp. I cooked on one side for about 3 to 4 minutes and slowly flip them and cooked until they turned brown. If required add more oil.
- As my pan was wide, I add all my slices in one shot and shallow fried. Depending upon your pan size fry them in batches.
- That’s it. Begun Bhaja is ready. This goes well with roti and also rice recipes.
Notes
- Mustard oil is preferable for frying but opt for any oil of your choice.
- Mustard seed powder is optional.
- Adjust the red chili powder and salt according to your preference.
- Instead of chickpea flour, you can use rice flour too.
- You deep fry or bake these marinated slices.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
I can enjoy this fried eggplants without fuss, wish i get a plate immediately.
:-) Thanks Priya and I wish I could send you some.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy eggplant (along with hundred other ways ;-) )
he he he.. I love brinjals.. thanks Pavani.
It looks fantastic and I am sure it tastes great with all rice dishes! Enjoyed your theme…nice to see brinjal in three ways!
:-) My favorite veggie. thanks a lot Valli.
I always wanted to make this recipe, but don’t know what is the hiccup that I couldn’t make it till now….surely going to make it this week.
Please do try. We all loved it. Thanks Ritu.
Really a very nice and tasty dish. Thanks for sharing your recipes. Your all recipes are outstanding.
Thanks a ton
Brinjal Varuval is tempting pa, my fav way to eat these are with thala thala curd rice. I also make something similar, but trick it with little sambar powder.
awwww thayir sadam and this.. heavenly. Adding sambar powder is great. Thanks for the tip. Will try it out.
Looks absolutely delicious Vidhya! I can’t wait to try it! Enjoying exploring your blog….
Hugs
Thanks a lot Divya.. and Welcome to my space. :-)
This is my favorite recipe from the three Brinjal recipes you posted over the week. Lovely looking bhaja!
he he mine too. Loved this very much. Thanks dear
Begun bhaja is one of my favorite dishes. Yours look awesome Srividya!
Thanks a lot Anu :-)
We them in Goan cusine as well. We call them kapa and we use rice flour like you stated. Must try your version.with chickpea.flour
Great to know that.. Kapa love that name. Thanks Sharvari.
Looks so yumm! :)
:-) Thanks a lot
I am in love with the recipe. Interesting and delicious!
Thanks a lot Deepa.
Looks perfect Vidhya!! Awesome clicks too.
Thanks a lot Preethi :-)