Bagara baingan recipe – learn to make hyderabadi bagara baingan with step by step photos. Bagara baingan is a popular side dish for Biryani from the Hyderabadi cuisine. Indian cuisine is diverse and each region has a lot of variations in the cooking methods & ingredients used.
This bagara baingan is made by deep frying young brinjals first and then simmered in a gravy.
It is also called as Nune vankaya kura in telugu. To make the gravy taste nutty and delicious ingredients like peanuts, sesame seeds and coconut are used.
Since brinjals are deep fried, they turn soft and mouth melting. When simmered in the nutty & tangy gray, they absorb all the flavors and taste delicious.
Gutti vankaya & bharwa baingan are the other variations of this dish.
Bagara baingan can be served with biryani or bagara rice called as bagara chawal. This curry can also be served with pulao, roti, paratha.
Here are some biryani recipes you may want to try with this side dish
Veg biryani
Chicken biryani
Mutton biryani
At home, I cook with brinjals a lot. So I have added so many brinjal recipes on the blog.
More Baingan recipes
Baingan Bharta
Brinjal chutney
Brinjal fry
Vangi bath
Brinjal curry
Preparation for bagara baingan
1. Dry roast peanuts till golden, add sesame seeds to the hot pan. When they begin to splutter, switch off the stove. Add coconut and stir in the hot pan. Set aside to cool.
2. Blend them with little water till slightly coarse or smooth to suit your taste.
3. Set this aside.
4. Add tamarind to 3 tbsp. hot water and soak it. Extract the thick juice when it cools down. Set this aside.
5. Wash baingan under running water. Keep the stems intact and slit partially. I made 4 cuts on each brinjal. Heat the oil and fry them. They can be shallow fried or deep fried. Choose a small pan for frying, can use less oil.
6. Fry until the skin of brinjal looks wilted completely. This means they are almost cooked. Transfer these to an absorbent tissue. Set them aside.
How to make bagara baingan
7. Retain 2 tsp oil in the pan and transfer the rest to a bowl. Add cumin and mustard.
8. When they splutter, add onions, curry leaves and sprinkle salt. Fry until the onions are lightly golden.
9. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes away.
10. Add 1/2 cup water to the pan, pour the blended mixture. Add garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric and red chili powder. Stir and cook on a low to medium flame.
11. Filter the tamarind juice or add paste. Stir and cook. Now you can add more salt, spice and sourness to suit your taste.
12. When the mixture begins to bubble up, add brinjals. If needed add more water. Stir.
13. Cover and cook till the brinjal wilts off and are completely cooked. Add chopped coriander leaves.
Serve bagara baingan with biryani, pulao, bagara rice or phulka.
Related Recipes
Bagara baingan recipe
Bagara baingan recipe | Hyderabadi bagara baingan for biryani
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
to roast and blend
- 2 tbsp peanuts
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 3 tbsp fresh coconut
to soak
- 2 tbsps tamarind or tamarind paste as needed
- 3 tbsp water to soak tamarind
other ingredients for bagara baingan
- 250 grams egg plants or brinjals or baingan
- 2 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp mustard
- ¾ cup onions chopped
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- salt as needed
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- 1/8 tsp turmeric or haldi
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves
Instructions
Preparation for bagara baingan recipe
- Dry roast peanuts until they begin to smell good and turn light brown.
- Add sesame seeds and allow them to splutter. Switch off the heat and add coconut.
- Saute it in the hot pan till the coconut smells good.
- Cool these and blend with little water to a coarse or smooth paste as desired. Set aside.
Frying baingan or brinjal
- Heat oil in a pan, brinjals can be deep fried or shallow fried.
- While the oil heats up, partially slit to 8 sections, leaving the stem intact.
- When the oil turns hot fry them until the skin looks wilted completely, meaning the brinjal is almost cooked. Set these aside.
- Transfer the hot oil to a bowl and just retain a few tsp oil in the pan.
Making hyderabadi bagara baingan
- Add cumin and mustard to the pan.
- When they begin to sizzle, add onions, curry leaves and sprinkle salt.
- Fry until the onions turn transparent.
- Next fry ginger garlic paste until the raw smell goes away.
- Pour half a cup of water to the pan.
- Add the blended peanut mixture, red chili powder, garam masala and turmeric. Stir and begin to cook on a medium flame.
- Filter the tamarind juice or paste and stir.
- When the gravy begins to bubble well, add the fried brinjals and stir. Add more water if needed to bring the gravy to a consistency.
- Cover and cook till the brinjal looks completely wilted or cooked.
- Add coriander leaves. Stir and serve bagara baingan with biryani, pulao or roti.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
I tried the recipe and the result was a fantastic restaurant style bagara baigan. The only change I made was to add dry red chilies when grinding the coconut paste for added spice.
Hi dear….as usual the recipe is too good. Can you help me with the good cookwares. I do not want to use non stick cookwares anymore. But want to replace them with something which uses less oil or no oil at all. Please help.
Hi Bhawna
Look for stainless steel heavy bottom pots and pans. I have no idea about the brands in India . I use WMF Cromargan pans and pot. Hope this helps
Chicago IL USA
Great Indian receipe thx for sharing
Wow such a delicious gravy. I have tried other recipes elsewhere for similar biryani gravy and it came out tasteless despite all the rich ingredients, but this one was amazing (and easy); we were licking it from the pan 🙂 I wonder if it would also come out good with certain other vegetables like ladies finger. I will try.
Glad to know Zanna
Yes even bhindi will taste good.
Thanks for leaving a comment
I have tried out number of your recipes, very easy to follow as each one is explained in detail and they taste yummy.
I am a great fan of your cooking. Thanks a lot.
Looking forward to lot more recipes from you.
Hello Aruna,
Glad to know the recipes worked well for you. Thanks for leaving a comment.
🙂
Hi, Can I use black sesame seeds?
Hi,
Usually black sesame don’t go well. Instead skip them
Hi, am trying to make this into a low carb recipe.
Do you think I can do with fewer peanuts ?
Also what can I replace the tamarind with ?
Hi,
Not sure how it’s going to taste with lesser peanuts. Pls check this similar recipe. It does not need peanuts, only poppy seeds are used. You can skip tamarind and squeeze some lemon juice before serving. But the taste will not be the same. Hope this helps
Very good
Easy recipe. Very yummy!! Could also add poppy seeds to the peanut mixture.
Thank you Tanya!
Love the idea of poppy seeds.
🙂
Hi, Would really like to thank you for this amazing recipe.Turned out v well.More than that extremely well explained and written in a systematic way.Thanks again
Hi Binu
You are welcome. Glad to know it turned out well. Thanks much
The recipe was a hit! This is the first time I’ve left a comment on a food blog – I couldn’t believe I made this baingan! The family asked to please make it again even before the meal was over! Wow – Thank you ?
Hello Anu,
You are welcome! So glad to know you all loved it. Thank you so much!
🙂
I love your recipe s .the karahi paneer recipe is a hit with the family
Thank you so much Dr Ruchi
Hi!
I’m an editor & I’d like to use the image of bagara baingan from your blog in a school book I’m editing. Please let me know if I have your permission to do so. I will, of course, acknowledge all sources as required by you.
Regards,
Gayathri
Hi Gayathri, you can use it if this is not for commercial purpose.
Clear and lucid instructions! Tasty result !
I think this is the first time I’m leaving a review on a food blog. The review is not for this particular recipe but for your recipes overall posted on this site. I must say that your recipes spot on. I have been cooking off recipes from the Web for 8-10 years now and have never been satisfied with the result, despite tweaking them constantly to enhance the flavours. In your recipes, you’ve got the proportions right, the balance of spices right and I’ve finally been able to switch off my brains and just follow your recipe to the T now and be assured the outcome will be fabulous. Thank you soooo much for sharing your art. Cheers Gomathy
Hi Gomathy,
You are welcome. So glad to know the recipes worked out well. Thanks a ton for your comment. The day I read your comment I was over excited and forgot to reply you. Yes I really felt very happy. Almost after 25 days while checking the pending comments I find out I haven’t replied you. So sorry for that. Thank you so much! You made my day!
🙂
So this website is may fav or i shud say i make only those recipes which i find on this… After chicken dishes i tried this today bcz my abba was bored of old brinjal recipes… As always it turned out superb and abba so happily ate it.. I am a foodie but never liked cooking.. Whatever i have cooked is bcz of this website only… May u go long way… Love.. ??
Hi Tabassum,
Thank you so much dear!. So happy to read your comment.
🙂
Hi dear..please tell me it is mandatory to use fresh cocunut or dry cocunut powder also.work???
If i.dont have fresh one what to.do
Hi Monika
If you don’t have fresh coconut you can use dry coconut. You can also skip it. The flavor of peanuts and sesame is more dominant in the gravy so coconut can be skipped.
Thanks dear…today i made it and really turned delicious..tasted this first time
Welcome Monika
Glad to know it came out well. Thanks for the comment. You made me happy!!
🙂
Can I get ur app link
Hi Uma
We don’t have an app
This recipe came very nice. Even my kids enjoyed eating. Thank you.
Welcome. Thanks for trying
i like recipes. good ,thank you for cook.I like cooking.keep it up.
You are welcome Manisha
Thanks for trying
I prepared this and was so tasty. Thank you. I was looking for chaat recipes on the blog and failed. Pls share some quick chaat recipes