Achaari Baingan

Achaari Baingan/Brinjals

I love all things achaari(having pickle masala) whether it is baingan/brinjals or bhindi/ladyfingers and I am sure there are many more. Infact ,give me any dish with nigella and big fennel seeds and I am going to like it blindly.

Ingredients

Baingan/Brinjals, small 6
Mustard  oil ( (sarson)  3 tbsp
Cloves  2
Bay leaf  1
Asafoetida (hing), soaked in 1 tbsp water a pinch

For Achaar Masala

Cumin powder 1/2 tbsp
Fenugreek  powder 3/4 tsp
Fennel (moti saunf) powder 1 tbsp
Yellow mustard seed powder 3/4tsp
Nigella seeds (kalonji) 1 tsp
Fennel seeds 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tbsp
Carom (ajwan) seeds 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder 1 tbsp
Turmeric  powder 1/2 tsp
Dry mango powder (amchur) 1 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste -1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Wash the brinjals and slit crosswise along the length, and keep aside. 
2. Heat the mustard oil in a pan on high heat until it starts smoking. Remove an cool. 
3. Mix the Achaar masala ingredients together in a bowl. 
4. Fill the brinjals with the achaar masala. 
5. Reheat the mustard oil; add cloves, bay leaves, asafoetida.
6. Add stuffed Brinjals, cover with a lid, and cook on low heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

The recipe has been modified from Headlines

Dahi wale Baingan

Brinjal in Curd /Dahi wale baingan

The vegetarians love it. The non-vegetarians don't mind it, the brinjal haters [My father-in-law] become a convert and the allergic[my sister] would eat this dahi alone. I am honestly not exaggerating. This recipe is really a hit. It is such an easy side dish. Though I prefer to have it as a main dish served with hot rotis at dinner time alone. The bhaghaar or the chaunk and the saltiness of the curd is what  makes this so special. Salt should be added on the higher side,because less salt makes a huge difference to the taste.

Ingrediants
1 medium size round brinjal
250gms fresh curd

Ideal size of the Brinjal for this recipe

Oil
3/4 tbsp Ghee [Clarified butter]
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Salt
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp nigella seeds [kalonji or mangrail]
1 tsp fennel seeds [ must] [bada saunf]
2 small dried red chillies
1/4th cup water

 Preparation

1. Slice the brinjal in round slices.Coat the pieces with turmeric and salt.
2. Shallow fry the slices in oil till it is brown.
3. In a separate bowl,whisk the curd smooth. Add water to make it slightly thinner. Put aside.
4. In a small pan heat ghee, put the cumin seed, mustard seed, nigella seeds, fennel seeds and dried red chillies and fry till brown. This is called a bhaghaar or  chaunk.
5. Pour this mixture over the curd.
6. Add salt little by little and mix till it salty enough. 
7.  Place the brinjal pieces in the curd mixure.
8. Top it up with red chilli powder.
9. Serve cooled.

For those who are new to the process of  bhaghaar or  chaunk [Tempering], best results come when you do it in smallest pan u can get[ size of small bowl] .

This recipe of mine is a slightly modified version of the recipe at this site .