Baigan Kalonji (Stuffed Baby Brinjal) is a delicious dish from Varanasi. Kalonji is nothing but Nigella seeds or black caraway or black cumin. They have slight bitter taste and pungent smell.
In this dish baby brinjals are stuffed with a combination of toasted spices along with onions. You can omit onion and garlic to make it as a Jain dish.
Do try our other recipes like Baigan Bhaja, Bhindi Ka Salan, Hyderabadi Bagara Baigan or Lauki Ka Kofta.
Yield: 3 to 4 serving
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients for Baigan Kalonji
300 grams baingan (eggplant/ aubergin)
½ cup onion chopped
1 teaspoon ginger chopped
1 teaspoon garlic chopped
2 teaspoon coriander chopped
½ teaspoon chilli powder
¼ teaspoon haldi (turmeric)
1 teaspoon amchur (mango powder)
1 + 2 teaspoon oil
Salt to taste
Roasted masala ingredients
1 tablespoon jeera (cumin)
2 tablespoon kalonji (nigella)
1 tablespoon saunf (fennel)
½ teaspoon methi (fenugreek)
1 teaspoon sarson (mustard)
Direction for Baigan Kalonji
- Wash and pat dry the baingan. Make a slit taking care not to cut them apart.
- Roast all the masala and grind and set aside.
- Heat oil, add ginger, garlic, onions and saute till translucent.
- Add haldi, salt, amchur, saute for a minute and turn off the heat.
- Now add in the roasted masala and chopped coriander, and mix.
- Stuff all the baingans with this masala. Set aside the left over masala to be added later.
- Heat oil in a pan; add the baingan and saute for a minute.
- Cover with a plate so that you can put water on the plate. Cook till the baingan is soft but does not lose the shape. Stir occasionally.
- Add the left over masala and switch off the heat.
- Serve.
