Hyderabadi Bagare Baingan: Yummy Lunch Delight

Hyderabad’s popular Bagare Baingan is a special dish that can be included in the lunch recipes. Served with biryani, chapatis, or rice, its luscious gravy makes it more delicious into which the stuffed eggplant is simmered. The combination of liberally used spices tempered in the aroma of curry leaves makes the gravy unique and flavourful. Eggplant is often not much liked by many people, but this recipe has the power to make people forget that. 

Origin

The dish has its origin during the Mughal Empire from Tashkent, which during the Mughal invasion was introduced in Hyderabad. Eventually, it was accompanied with the famous Dum Biryani. Bagara Baingan or Bagharay Baingan or Nune Vankaya kura in Telugu is an adaptable recipe that can be eaten with rice dishes or chapati. The authentic taste emerges through the coconut, peanuts, sesame, along with cumin, chilli and coriander seeds.

Ingredients:

• 300 g Eggplant
• 2 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 medium onion
• 1 tablespoon Sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon Dry Coconut Shreds
• 1 tablespoon Peanut
• Ginger-garlic paste
• Few Coriander leaves
• Few Curry leaves
• 3-5 Kashmiri red chilli
• Coriander seeds
• Cumin or Jeera

Masala Preparation

1. Add the given three masala ingredients to a pan and start heating
2. Roast the spices till a fragrance comes
3. Transfer the spices in a bowl to be used later
4. In a pan, take one tablespoon dry coconut and one tablespoon sesame seeds
5. Heat the pan to roast the two items
6. Transfer these two to the same bowl as the masala
7. Similarly, add roasted peanuts to the masala mixture
8. Now, grind all the above spices together till a course consistency
9. To this bowl of masala, add a teaspoon of tomato puree, a teaspoon of ginger-garlic, few chopped coriander leaves and salt as per taste
10. Mix everything together

Preparation of Eggplant- 

1. Filling Baingan with Masala
2. Take 300g eggplant and wash them thoroughly
3. Cut the eggplants using knife in a way that there are three to four cuts or incisions and the piece remains intact 
4. Fill the prepared masala in the cuts properly and keep them aside

Preparation of Bagare Baingan Curry

1. Take a pan and add two teaspoon oil
2. Add some two to three roughly chopped onions and saute till they become a little soft
3. Take the onions out in a bowl, let it cool and finally grind that into a paste
4. In a wok, take five teaspoon oil and heat
5. Now, add about a teaspoon jeera, one dry Kashmiri chilli and some curry leaves
6. Add the ground paste of onion and let the mixture sautee for a while on a medium flame
7. Now add the tomato puree made using two medium tomatoes
8. Cook till the oil separates on the top
9. At this stage, add turmeric, salt, and red chilli powder; Add salt as per taste and balance the already added salt in the masala earlier
10. To this, also add ginger-garlic paste
11. Add the masala filled baingan into the mixture and let them cook with the onion-tomato mix
12. Add some water to the puree mixture to let the eggplants cook till they are soft; This will take at least five to eight minutes
13. Now, add tamarind pulp into the puree and mix thoroughly in the mix
14. Let this cook for a few minutes so that tamarind flavour gets properly mixed in the dish
15. Finally, garnish with some coriander leaves
16. Serve hot with biryani, naan or chapati

Hyderabadi Bagaray Baingan is not just a famous dish in Hyderabad, it is becoming famous in the restaurants of other states, making a mark there. Its versatility to taste well with all Indian breads and rice dishes is a good advantage for meals.