Brinjal Masala / Baingan Masala - Spicy brinjal curry

If you are following my blog you may know that I am little bit biased towards Begun (Brinjal) and lau (bottlegourd). Brinjal / Eggplant / Aubergine is called baingan in Hindi and is considered Sabziyon ka Raja. Here is one more brinjal recipe from my kitchen. This is a vegetarian dish and you can make it more strictly vegetarian (Jain food) by removing the onion from the recipe. This yummy spicy dish is very popular in Northern part of India.

Preparation Time: - 15 min

Cooking Time: - 35 min

Servings: - 4 persons

Ingredients:-

1. 2 medium Brinjal
   
2. 1 large sized onion chopped
3. 2 green chili slited and one more for garnishing. You can use red chili if you like.
4. 1 large tomato chopped
5. 1 ½ tbsp Ginger paste
6. 1 tsp Garlic paste
7. ½ tsp Turmeric powder
8. Salt and Sugar to taste
9. 1 tsp Cumin seeds
10. 3 tbsp grated Coconut
11. 7~8 tbsp Vegetable oil. I used Sunflower Oil but you can use any vegetable oil.
12. 1 tbsp Ghee
13. 2 tsp Garam Masala
14. Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Preparation:-

1. Cut the brinjal lengthwise and keep aside.
   
2. Chop the onion and tomato. Keep aside.
3. Take a bowl and mix half of onion and tomato. Add half of ginger and garlic paste, the grated coconut and one green chili. Now add turmeric powder and salt. Mix thoroughly.
4. Apply this spice mix to the brinjal pieces and marinate for 5 minutes.
5. Take a non-stick Kadai/wok and heat the oil in high flame. Then turn the heat to medium flame and put the cumin seeds and one green chili.
   
6. When the cumin seeds splutter add the remaining onion.
   
7. When the onion pieces turn golden brown add remaining ginger and garlic paste.
8. Sauté for 1 min and add remaining tomato.
   
9. Stir to mix properly and now pour the marinated brinjal pieces one by one.
   
10. Stir continuously and after about 1 minute add grated coconut.
    
11. Brinjal and tomatoes will release lot of juice. Cook on low flame till the juices dried up.
    
12. Now add a little bit of water and put the lid to boil the whole preparation.
    
13. Check continuously and when one side of the brinjal is done turn them upside down.
    
14. You may need to add some water here if the things are dried up. Wait till both the sides are boiled properly.
15. Add Ghee and garam masala. Mix it well. This will enhance the aroma of the preparation. Sauté for one minute and switch off the burner.
16. Now the dish is ready. The final dish should look moist but with no extra juice. Garnish with a green chili and coriander leaves.
    

This is a North Indian side dish which goes well with hot rice, roti or paratha.

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.