Bagara Baingan-Hyderabad style/Stuffed Brinjals in a rich gravy

Tweet

I was never a fan of brinjals/egg plant/ baingan until I landed in Hyderabad. The city of the famous Charminar. You have heard us (both Sunitha and I have lived in Hyderabad at different times) rant about this city and it's cuisine endlessly. Being from the south of India, even if we were not in Hyderabad, I think a mention for Telangana and Hyderabadi cuisine is inevitable. They top the charts with their myriad dishes. They have used every leaf and spice culminating into their fascinating cuisine.
Biriyani, Mughalai dish, in Hyderabad is the best. And the best side dish is bagara baingan ("Gutti vankaya kura")or michi ka salan. The former, our topic of conversation today, is a gravy made with sesame seeds, peanuts, dessicated coconut, cilantro, mint leaves and a host of other spices ground to a smooth paste with stuffed, fried baingan floating.

The smooth blend of ingredients is fiery, mellow and bursting with flavor. A quintessential party dish.  Pair it with rotis, nans, parathas, or any rice and you can never disappoint your guests. On your next visit to India be sure to visit Hyderabad.  If you are already in India make a trip there and look Charminar, Biriyani and bagara baingan in pretty much this order.  If you are a lady get a mehandi design there as well.



Ingredients:

For stuffing and gravy:

Peanuts(dry roasted and skinned)- 3/4 cup
Sesame seeds-white(dry roasted)- 1/4 cup
Coconut(frozen, fresh or dried)-1/4 cup
Red chilli powder- 2 Tsp
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 Tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Cloves- 2-3
Cinnamon- A small piece
Salt

For the gravy:

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Onion(finely chopped)- 1/4 cup
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tsp
Tamarind pulp- 1/3 cup
Small brinjals- 8-9
Oil- 2 Tbsp

Method:

1.Grind together everything listed under stuffing, without adding any water.Add a couple of tspns of tamarind pulp and mix it.
2.Wash and clean the brinjals. If it is really fresh keep the stalks intact.(What we get here is not so fresh , so I had to remove them !)
3.Keep the side of stalk intact and make 2 cuts ; one horizontally, and the second one vertically , making a + sign when you look from the top.
4.Immerse this in salted water for 10 minutes and wash and pat dry them before stuffing them.
5.Carefully stuff each brinjal with the ground paste.Do not break them into pieces.
6.Heat oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds. Saute the onion in this.
7.once the onion is done add the ginger-garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes.
8.Meanwhile in another pan, pour some oil and saute the stuffed brinjals. Be careful and use a tong to turn them around.This should be done on low heat and it takes 10-12 mintes.
9.Once the ginger-garlic paste is cooked add the remaining stuffing and the tamarind pulp into this. Add a little water to make it bit thinner.
10.Cook it slowly on low heat. It takes almost 15 minutes for the peanut to be cooked.
11.Towards the end, add the fried brinjals into this, and cook covered for another 5-6 minutes.
12.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm with roti, naan or biryani.



We would like to send this off to Priya's event



Thanks for hosting this fun event Priya :-)