East Indian

Begun Bhaja (Fried Eggplant Slices)

Name: Begun Bhaja (Fried Eggplant Slices)
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: East Indian
Ingredients: 1 large eggplant, sliced into rounds; 1/2 tsp turmeric; 1/2 tsp red chili powder; 2 tbsp rice flour; 4 tbsp mustard oil; 3/4 tsp salt

Rina @rina_b

Begun Bhaja (Fried Eggplant Slices) is East Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the cooked vegetable. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.

20 min Easy Diabetic friendly High fiber Vegetarian Vegan Halal Gluten free Dairy free Pescatarian

Ingredients

Serves

The quantities follow this count.

1 large eggplant, sliced into rounds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chili powder
2 tbsp rice flour
4 tbsp mustard oil
3/4 tsp salt

How to cook it

Slice the eggplant into rounds about half an inch thick.
Rub the slices with turmeric, red chili powder, rice flour, and salt, and let them sit for 10 minutes.
Heat the mustard oil in a wide pan until it shimmers.
Shallow-fry the eggplant slices in batches until golden brown and soft in the center, about 3 minutes per side.
Drain on paper towels and serve hot as a simple side with dal and rice.

Watch how to cook Begun Bhaja (Fried Eggplant Slices)

Someone making it start to finish, so you can see what the steps look like.

Serve it with

A East Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Begun Bhaja (Fried Eggplant Slices), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.

The dish at the centre
- Aloo Posto (Potato in Poppy Seed Paste)
  
  35 min
The protein alongside
- Arhar Dal (Bihari-Style Toor Dal)
  
  30 min
What it is eaten with
- Bajra Bhakri (Pearl Millet Flatbread)
  
  35 min

A course labelled with another kitchen's name comes from a cuisine in the same family, which is where this plate usually borrows it from.

Safe at your table

Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand. Begun Bhaja (Fried Eggplant Slices) carries none of them. That is a checked answer rather than an ingredient list nobody read.

Every tracked allergen in Begun Bhaja (Fried Eggplant Slices)
Allergen	In this dish
Peanuts	No
Tree nuts	No
Dairy	No
Gluten	No
Shellfish	No
Eggs	No
Soy	No
Fish	No
Sesame	No
Coconut	No

These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.

What it brings to the plate

Estimated, per serving

Calories: 150 kcal
Protein: 2 g
Carbs: 12 g
Fat: 10 g
Fiber: 3 g
Sugar: 4 g
Sodium: 330 mg
Saturated fat: 1 g

Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients, brands, and how you cook.

When to cook it

Begun Bhaja (Fried Eggplant Slices) takes about 20 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is easy going. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.