Begun Basanti
Like every other aspect of our lives and personalities, our mothers have a deep influence on our tastes and culinary preferences. My mom is the reason why I am so enamored by Bengali cuisine. Every other day I had a chance to enjoy various versions of the same dish. Even a veggie like Brinjal/ egg plant could get a makeover in her kitchen as some exotic dish.
Sharing with you “Begun Basanti”, a beautiful mustard & curd based egg plant dish. This is a very popular Bengali traditional dish and the name literally means Yellow Eggplant, reflecting the contents, texture and color of the dish.
Ingredients:
- Brinjal/ Egg plant/ Aubergine/ Begun- 5 (cut into 6″ long slices)
- White oil- 3 tablespoons
- Mustard oil- 1 tablespoon
- Nigella seeds/ Kala jeera- 1/2 teaspoon
- Green Chillies- 2 to 3 (cut into halves)
- Mustard powder- 4 teaspoons
- Turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon
- Red Chilli powder-1/4 teaspoon
- Curd/Yogurt- 2 tablespoons
- Salt- (to taste)
- Sugar- 1/2 teaspoon
- All purpose flour- 1/2 teaspoon
Cooking Method:
- In a bowl mix mustard powder, salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder in 1/2 cup lukewarm water and make a paste. Let it rest for 30 mins. This rest period is critical and cannot be skipped, otherwise the mustard powder will taste bitter.
- In another bowl mix the yogurt thoroughly with sugar and all purpose flour, making sure that there are no lumps in the mixture.
- Coat the Brinjal slices with 1/2 teaspoon salt, a pinch of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder.
- Fry them to golden in white oil. Remove and keep aside.
- In a separate pan, heat the mustard oil, temper with slit green chillies and nigella seeds. After 30 secs add the mustard paste, cook for 2 minutes and add 1/2 cup water. Let it come to a gentle boil.
- Add salt and the fried brinjal pieces. Let it cook for 5 minutes.
- Now lower the heat to minimum, add the curd from the bowl and delicately mix well. Switch off the heat. Let it standby for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve it with steamed rice and enjoy!
Whats your favorite childhood dish? What’s the signature spice of your country/region/culture? Drop a line in the comments!
