So winter has truly set in Calcutta in all it's might and even as I'm typing this post in, I'm shivering under multiple layers of fabric.The particular locality that I stay in is a very busy part of the city,pretty chaotic and choc-a-bloc with traffic well upto midnight. As a result,alongside the cold,we also have to get through thick fog (sometimes even smog) these days. The balcony with it's warm winter afternoon sun is the place to be now,one simply wants to curl up on a chair with a good book wrapped in a snuggly blanket and snooze off. But one also has to eat, and simple items like a crispy fried slice of a vegetable with hot rotis or even with the simple dal and rice is a treat these days. They seem to warm up the body and soul and we all could do with some fried stuff in winter, the body stores up the 'wee bit' of fat as a protection mechanism against the cold weather and it's many accompanying ailments.
I am perennially in love with vegetables, especially the beautiful looking ones, and even though I'm a non-vegetarian, there are vegetables I'd kill for, especially the winter bounty.I am a true December baby and I love every single vegetable that this season offers - creamy cauliflowers, crunchy cabbages,tender turnips, brilliant beets, crispy carrots and gorgeous green peas.So much of colour, so much of beauty. The best part of it is that a vegetable that I find so mundane in the summer,when it's all purple and skinny and worm-infested and tasteless (to my palate), all of a sudden transforms into this pale green,thick, juicy, delicious avatar!
It is a glorious makeover crafted by the greatest craftsman, Mother Nature and it is such a treat to eat this beautiful,juicy and tender vegetable. Or even look at it and admire it for a long, long time before cutting it up.
Many weekday winter nights, we roast this tender eggplant over a hot tawa on the flame to make a Punjabi style spicy Baingan Bharta (recipe here and an exotic version here), but for a leisurely winter afternoon lunch, I love to cook them into the Begun Bhaaja - Begun(pronounced Bay-Goon) is the Bengali word for eggplants, and Bhaaja stands for fried. It is a simple as can be,fast to cook dish that pairs very well with a plate of hot steamed Rice and Dal. Many Bengalis will have it with Roti or Luchi for Sunday/special day breakfast, with a green chilly by the side.A lot of Bengali kids I've known while growing up would bring it to school in their lunch boxes.
To make the Begun Bhaaja, I simply cut the above eggplant into about 1.5-2 inches thick roundels and then halved them and marinated them for about 10 minutes with 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp of red chilly powder and salt to taste.
Meanwhile, I heated a frying pan with mustard oil for deep-frying. You could also use your preferred white oil but then Bong food and mustard oil go hand in hand.The taste will be markedly different. Once the oil is heated, reduce the flame to medium and deep fry the slices till they are cooked to crispy golden brown, lightly charred on the sides perfection. It takes hardly 5-6 mins for each slice to cook on medium heat. For a healthier version, shallow fry on a non-stick pan , like you'd fry a patty/tikia, just that this will seem like a very big piece of patty/tikia. You will also have to do them one by one or two together at most.Serve hot with roti/luchi/puri/paratha or eat with rice and dal. You will be addicted to it, I believe.
One of these days,I'm planning to cook this beautiful vegetable into this fantastic looking Shorshe Begun - eggplant cooked in a mustard gravy. Something similar called Begun Basanti is served by some Bengali caterers especially in vegetarian feasts, but they are mostly very generic fried eggplants slathered with ill-seasoned mustard pastes and taste pretty much bland. This may just be the perfect answer to all those plain-jane eggplant concoctions that I've eaten over the years.
I am perennially in love with vegetables, especially the beautiful looking ones, and even though I'm a non-vegetarian, there are vegetables I'd kill for, especially the winter bounty.I am a true December baby and I love every single vegetable that this season offers - creamy cauliflowers, crunchy cabbages,tender turnips, brilliant beets, crispy carrots and gorgeous green peas.So much of colour, so much of beauty. The best part of it is that a vegetable that I find so mundane in the summer,when it's all purple and skinny and worm-infested and tasteless (to my palate), all of a sudden transforms into this pale green,thick, juicy, delicious avatar!
It is a glorious makeover crafted by the greatest craftsman, Mother Nature and it is such a treat to eat this beautiful,juicy and tender vegetable. Or even look at it and admire it for a long, long time before cutting it up.
Many weekday winter nights, we roast this tender eggplant over a hot tawa on the flame to make a Punjabi style spicy Baingan Bharta (recipe here and an exotic version here), but for a leisurely winter afternoon lunch, I love to cook them into the Begun Bhaaja - Begun(pronounced Bay-Goon) is the Bengali word for eggplants, and Bhaaja stands for fried. It is a simple as can be,fast to cook dish that pairs very well with a plate of hot steamed Rice and Dal. Many Bengalis will have it with Roti or Luchi for Sunday/special day breakfast, with a green chilly by the side.A lot of Bengali kids I've known while growing up would bring it to school in their lunch boxes.
To make the Begun Bhaaja, I simply cut the above eggplant into about 1.5-2 inches thick roundels and then halved them and marinated them for about 10 minutes with 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp of red chilly powder and salt to taste.
Meanwhile, I heated a frying pan with mustard oil for deep-frying. You could also use your preferred white oil but then Bong food and mustard oil go hand in hand.The taste will be markedly different. Once the oil is heated, reduce the flame to medium and deep fry the slices till they are cooked to crispy golden brown, lightly charred on the sides perfection. It takes hardly 5-6 mins for each slice to cook on medium heat. For a healthier version, shallow fry on a non-stick pan , like you'd fry a patty/tikia, just that this will seem like a very big piece of patty/tikia. You will also have to do them one by one or two together at most.Serve hot with roti/luchi/puri/paratha or eat with rice and dal. You will be addicted to it, I believe.
One of these days,I'm planning to cook this beautiful vegetable into this fantastic looking Shorshe Begun - eggplant cooked in a mustard gravy. Something similar called Begun Basanti is served by some Bengali caterers especially in vegetarian feasts, but they are mostly very generic fried eggplants slathered with ill-seasoned mustard pastes and taste pretty much bland. This may just be the perfect answer to all those plain-jane eggplant concoctions that I've eaten over the years.
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