Begun Bhaja | Bengali Style Fried Eggplant
Begun Bhaja or Baingan Bhaja - marinated and fried eggplant/brinjal slices, a popular recipe from West Bengal.
Servings: 4
Calories: 167kcal
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
Calories: 167kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1183mg | Potassium: 314mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 324IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg