Name: Bengali Beguni
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ½ Eggplant, large baingan, thinly sliced lengthwise; ½ cup Gram Flour, besan; 1 tbsp Rice Flour, for extra crispiness; ¼ tsp Nigella Seeds, kalonji; ¼ tsp Ground Turmeric; ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder; ⅛ tsp Baking Soda, just a pinch; 1 cup Mustard Oil, for deep frying (essential for Bengali flavor); ½ tsp Salt, to taste; 6 tbsp Water, as needed for batter

40 mintotal

25 min hands-on15 min hands-off

Prep 10 min · Cook 15 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Medium

Add to your week

Method

Batter Synthesis: Within an expansive mixing basin, amalgamate the gram flour (besan), the structurally critical rice flour, the pungent nigella seeds (kalonji), turmeric, aggressive red chilli dust, the chemical leavening agent (baking soda), and the foundational salt.
Add water gradually, whisking continuously, to make a completely smooth, lump-free batter. It should be thick enough to coat the smooth surface of the eggplant evenly without running straight off.
Heat the mustard oil in a deep kadhai until it smokes; this takes the raw, harsh edge off the oil. Then turn the heat down to a steady medium.
Pat the eggplant slices completely dry with kitchen paper. Dip one slice fully into the thick batter so both sides are evenly and completely coated.
Lower the coated slice carefully into the hot oil.
Deep-fry over medium heat, turning it carefully now and then. Keep frying until the batter puffs up and sets into a firm, very crisp, golden-brown shell.
Lift it out with a slotted spoon and transfer it straight to absorbent paper to drain the surface oil.
Fry the remaining aubergine slices the same way and serve them hot.

How to tell it's done

A light, puffed, golden crust with a proper crunch that gives way at once to soft, meltingly tender aubergine inside.

Getting it right

Tip

A good trick for beguni: take a teaspoon of the smoking-hot mustard oil straight from the kadhai and whisk it into the raw batter before frying. That hot fat changes the batter and makes the finished beguni much crisper.

What to serve it with

Serve them hot with masala chai or a bowl of khichdi. They are at their best in the monsoon.

Tandoori Gobi

Tandoori gobi marinates cauliflower florets in spiced yoghurt and chars them.

1 hr 35 minvegetarian

Tandoori Malai Broccoli

Tandoori malai broccoli marinates florets in cream cheese and chars them.

45 minvegetarian

Tandoori Prawns

Tandoori prawns marinate prawns in spiced yoghurt and cook them fast so they do not toughen.

50 minpescatarian

Tandoori Soya Chaap

Tandoori soya chaap marinates soy chaap and chars it, the vegetarian answer to a tandoori kebab.

2 hr 35 minvegetarian

Veg Crispy

Veg crispy batters mixed vegetables and fries them, tossed in a light Indo-Chinese seasoning.

35 minvegan

Veg Manchurian (Dry)

Veg manchurian fries vegetable balls and tosses them in a dry Indo-Chinese sauce.

40 minvegan

Ingredients