Bengali Begun Bhaja
Bengali begun bhaja is made from thick aubergine rounds coated with turmeric and mild chilli, then shallow-fried until tender and golden. It tastes savoury and gently spicy, with soft aubergine inside and crisp edges.
Turmeric-chilli coating
6 gStirred with salt and pressed onto the aubergine before frying (step 2)Everything else
Method
- Cut 400 g aubergine across into rounds about 2 cm thick.
- Stir the masala — 3 g ground turmeric and 2.5 g kashmiri chilli powder — with salt to taste.
- Press this mixture onto both sides of each aubergine round.
- Set a wide frying pan over medium heat and coat the base with mustard or vegetable oil.
- Lay in enough coated aubergine to fill the pan without crowding and fry for 2–3 minutes on one side until golden.
- Turn the slices and fry for another 2–3 minutes until golden and tender.
- Lift the fried aubergine onto kitchen paper to drain.
- Repeat with the remaining aubergine, adding more oil to the pan as needed.
Don't have something?
Baby aubergineUse the same weight; halve or quarter and cook 2–3 minutes longer. They hold their shape better in the sauce.
Small aubergineUse the same weight; slice or cube to the recipe's size. Similar flesh, slightly firmer.
Round aubergineUse the same weight; cube and salt for 10 minutes if the recipe does. It absorbs oil a little more.
Ground gingerUse 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.
SaffronSteep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.
Kashmiri chilli powderUse the same weight; this is the first half of the book's option and gives the best red colour with mild heat.
Mild paprikaUse the same weight; add a pinch of cayenne pepper for warmth. Slightly less colour.
- Paprika
Use the same weight and add cayenne pepper to taste; works but is less aromatic.
Groundnut oilUse the same weight; neutral, so the dish will lack mustard heat unless you add mustard seeds.
Sunflower oilUse the same weight; neutral and light, but no pungency.
Vegetable or corn oilUse the same weight; plain and neutral, best when mustard oil is omitted for a milder dish.
Similar dishes
- Same: Baingan Ka Bharta shares aubergine, turmeric, mild chilli powder, salt and oil with this dish.
- Different: Baingan Ka Bharta adds onion, garlic, tomato, tomato purée, green bird’s eye chilli, ginger, coriander leaves and lemon juice, and it is cooked as a smoky mash rather than shallow-fried aubergine rounds.
- Same: Rasedar Baigan shares aubergine rounds, ground turmeric, chilli powder, and oil with this dish.
- Different: Rasedar Baigan adds asafoetida and coconut milk and simmers the aubergine in a sauce, while this dish coats 400 g aubergine with turmeric and chilli and shallow-fries it in mustard or vegetable oil.
- Same: Bengali Begun Pora shares aubergine, chilli, oil and salt with this dish.
- Different: Bengali Begun Pora is a smoky mashed aubergine dish with mustard oil, onion, garlic, tomato, green chilli, coriander and lime, while this dish is turmeric-and-chilli-coated aubergine rounds shallow-fried without those extra ingredients.
- Same: Namak ke Baigan shares with this dish thick aubergine slices shallow-fried in oil with salt.
- Different: Namak ke Baigan uses only long aubergine, 40.5 g mustard oil and salt, with no turmeric or chilli, while this dish uses 400 g aubergine, 3 g turmeric, 2.5 g Kashmiri chilli powder or mild paprika, and mustard or vegetable oil.