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Begun Basanti

Madhushree Basu Roy
Bengali style eggplant / aubergine/ brinjal recipe in a mustard and yogurt sauce
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Bengali
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 6 nos eggplants thin 5 to 6 inch long Japanese or Chinese varieties (which can be cooked whole)
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard seed
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 tbsp poppy seed paste
  • 1 tbsp golden raisins or kismis
  • 1 tbsp broken cashew
  • 1/2 cup thick yogurt
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 4 nos green chillies
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp all purpose flour or maida
  • 6 tbsp mustard oil
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Wash the eggplants and make a slice longitudinally without removing the stem. The stem keeps the brinjal whole.
  • Sprinkle salt, 1/4 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and rub them all over the eggplants. Keep them aside for 10 minutes while you prepare all your spice paste.
  • Soak the yellow mustard seeds, cashews and kismis in a bowl of water for ten minutes. After that take these ingredients in a spice grinder and make a paste with 1 green chilli and little bit of mustard oil and milk. Do it in batches and use just as much milk as is required to make a good paste.
  • Once you have a smooth paste, add the poppy seed paste to it. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt and add the rest of the turmeric powder and the mustard paste base along with the tsp of flour. Whisk it thoroughly.
  • Now take the brinjals/ eggplants and discard any residual water. In a frying pan, take 2 tbsp of mustard oil and when it is smoking hot, add the brinjals and fry them till they are soft.
  • The technique is to keep the flame medium to low. You need a bit of crisp outer and soft cooker inside. COver and cook and sprinkle some water if you feel that the brinjals have soaked all the oil.
  • Once the eggplants are cooked all the way through, take them out and keep aside.
  • In the same frying pan, add another tbsp of mustard oil and heat it. Add the mustard yogurt paste and stir continuously.
  • Add 1/2 to 1 cup of water and keep cooking the sauce on a medium flame till the raw smell goes off and oil starts to float on top. It takes about 5 to 8 minutes.
  • Add the cooked eggplants in the sauce and coat them with the sauce. Sprinkle sugar and adjust seasoning.
  • Add split green chillies and drizzle extra mustard oil from top and turn off the heat.
  • Serve begun basanti with steamed rice or even luchi.
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