Namak ke Baigan
Fried Aubergines (Eggplant)
Vegetarian●●●Origin AwadhPrep 10 minutes, plus standing timeCook 15 minutes
Thick slices of aubergine shallow-cooked in pungent mustard oil with salt until meltingly tender and rich.
Ingredients
Method
- Cut the trimmed aubergines into lengthwise slices and arrange them in a wide, flat dish. Season with a light sprinkle of salt and let them stand for 30 minutes.
- Bring 40.5 g mustard oil to a high temperature in a kadhai or heavy-based deep pan.
- Drop the heat to low, add the drained aubergine slices, and season with an additional pinch of salt. Put a lid on the pan and let them simmer gently for approximately 15 minutes, carefully turning them over two or three times until cooked through and tender.
Don't have something?
AubergineUse the same weight; cut into long batons; cooking time is the same.
Baby aubergineUse the same weight; halve or quarter lengthways; cook 2–3 minutes less so they do not collapse.
EggplantUse the same weight; same vegetable under another name; cut to match the recipe.
Peanut oilUse equal weight. It handles high-heat cooking well, but lacks the signature pungent, nasal heat of mustard oil.
Vegetable oilUse equal weight. Neutral in flavour, so your curry will lack the characteristic Bengali or North Indian pungent punch.
Similar dishes
Bengali Begun Bhaja
Quick-Fried Aubergines with Turmeric and Chilli
Bengali Begun Bhaja tastes savoury and gently spicy with crisp edges, while this dish tastes of salt and pungent mustard oil without turmeric or chilli.
- Same: Bengali Begun Bhaja and this dish both shallow-fry thick aubergine pieces in oil with salt until tender.
- Different: Bengali Begun Bhaja coats the aubergine with ground turmeric and Kashmiri chilli powder or mild paprika and allows mustard or vegetable oil, while this dish uses only aubergine, mustard oil and salt.
Bengali Begun Pora
Smoked Aubergines with Mustard, Chilli & Lime
Bengali Begun Pora is soft, tangy and lightly hot with smoke, while this dish is meltingly tender, rich and salty from frying.
- Same: Both are aubergine dishes cooked with mustard oil and salt.
- Different: Bengali Begun Pora adds onion, green bird's-eye chilli, garlic, tomato, coriander and lime, and it is smoked then mashed, while this dish is only thick aubergine slices shallow-cooked in mustard oil with salt.
Venkayya Thuvaiyal
Tangy Mashed 'Southern' Aubergines (Eggplant)
Venkayya Thuvaiyal tastes smoky, spicy, and tangy rather than rich and pungent with mustard oil.
- Same: Venkayya Thuvaiyal also features aubergine as its main ingredient seasoned with salt.
- Different: Instead of shallow-frying slices in mustard oil, it mashes charred aubergine with urad dal, chana dal, asafoetida, dried and fresh chillies, tamarind, and neutral vegetable oil.
Aloo Baigan Sookha
Potatoes with Aubergine (Eggplant)
It tastes warm, earthy, and spicy from the cumin and chillies, lacking the sharp, pungent bite of the mustard oil used in this dish.
- Same: Aloo Baigan Sookha also features aubergine shallow-cooked until tender with salt.
- Different: Aloo Baigan Sookha adds potatoes, whole cumin seeds, and dried red chillies, while using neutral vegetable oil instead of mustard oil.