This bagara baingan recipe is a delicious Hyderabadi eggplant curry with tamarind, peanuts, sesame and coconut. It has some great layers of flavor, loads of sauce, and tastes wonderful with both bread and rice!
Try this kadhi pakora too, if you like tangy curries.
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What is bagara baingan?
Bagara baingan or baghare baingan is a hearty eggplant curry with tamarind to wake up those taste buds! It is right up your alley if you love tangy curries packed with punch. It is also called Hyderabadi bagara baingan since it is a specialty from Hyderabad in South India.
Bagara baingan gets its unique flavours from a combination of spices and masalas used in south India, which differ significantly from those in the North.
Think tamarind, coconut, peanuts and curry leaves, all liberally used ingredients in dishes down South, but hardly ever used in North Indian cuisine.
A very similar Hyderabadi recipe is mirchi ka salan, or curried chilli peppers, usually served with biryani.
This happens to be an authentic recipe since I learnt it from my cousin, Asma, whose husband is from Hyderabad. She makes the most delish Hyderabadi style baghare baingan, and I know it's the real deal. You will love the spicy and sour notes in this curry... and it is such a welcome change from my typical gravies.
Baghare baingan does take a little effort and time to make, but then it tastes quite different from your usual everyday curry. Serve it as a fancy vegetarian dish when you are entertaining, or make it on the weekends for a special vegetarian brunch or dinner!
More Indian vegetarian curries for you to try: Malai kofta, palak paneer, and a simple aloo curry.
Ingredients
Note: Exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down.
INGREDIENT NOTES
- Seedless tamarind (Imli): The tamarind needs to be soaked in water first and then strained. This tamarind water is what gives the curry its signature sourness, but be careful.. don't go overboard with tamarind as a too sour curry is not pleasant. The quantity of tamarind is mentioned in the recipe card, of course, but I would suggest you taste as you go to control the sourness to your liking.
Note: Seedless tamarind comes in plastic packaging and can be found in the international aisles of most supermarkets.
- Cooking oil: Any neutral cooking oil is fine.
- Baby eggplants: Choose small, firm baby eggplants with a healthy purple colour and intact, plump skins and stems. These are the freshest of the lot.
- Red Onion: A small to medium red onion is fried until it turns reddish-brown.
- Peanuts, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, and dry desiccated coconut (unsweetened): These ingredients are dry-roasted one by one and then ground with the onions into a fine paste.
- Ginger-garlic paste: A staple in any curry, this is very simple to make at home. Put equal quantities of peeled and chopped ginger and garlic in a blender with a few tablespoons of water and grind to a fine paste. Use as required and store the extra in a covered jar or bottle in the fridge.
- Ground spices and sea salt: Kashmiri red chilli, turmeric, and coriander are the 3 spices you will need, plus salt, of course.
A note on Kashmiri chilli powder: I like to use Kashmiri chilli (affiliate link) in my curries as it is milder than regular chilli. It is also naturally bright red and imparts a pleasing color to anything it's added to. Since you're also adding Thai green chillies (which are quite hot), Kashmiri chilli powder is perfect for this recipe. It is available in Indian or Pakistani groceries, but if you can't find it, use regular chilli... just reduce the quantity by half.
- Thai green chillies: You will add these right in the end as a garnish, but they are hot, so just 2 or 3 of them will be enough. They add a pleasant heat to the curry.
How to make bagara baingan
1. Make the tamarind water
- Put the tamarind into a small bowl and pour ½ cup water in it. Let the tamarind soak in the water for 15-20 minutes as you go about the other tasks.
- After about 20 minutes, pass the mixture through a strainer to get tamarind water. You can discard the solids left behind.
2. Fry the baby eggplants in cooking oil
- Cut off the tops of all the eggplants and make deep vertical slits without slicing them all the way. This is so the spices can penetrate inside.
- Heat the cooking oil in a karahi or wok and fry the eggplants until they soften a little (5-7 minutes). There's no need to cook them fully as you will be cooking them in the curry later.
- Take them out and keep aside.
3. Roast the dry ingredients
- Dry roast the peanuts, sesame, cumin, and coconut one by one in a small frypan until they change colour and turn golden brown. There is no need to add oil to them as you are just toasting them to deepen their flavours. Keep them aside for now.
4. Fry the onions
- In the same karahi that you fried the eggplants, add more oil and fry the sliced onions until they turn reddish brown. Take them out with a slotted spoon and keep them aside. Don't discard the remaining oil in the karahi as you will be sautéing the ginger-garlic paste in it later.
Tip: If you want to save time, you can use ½ cup pre-fried onions too, easily available in any Indian or Pakistani grocery.
5. Make the wet masala
Add the fried onions (step 4) and the roasted dry ingredients (step 3) to a blender. Add water little by little and start blending. The mixture will be quite thick and will resist blending, so keep adding water and blending until you get a smooth wet masala like this:
6. Fry the ginger-garlic paste
- Now tip in the ginger-garlic paste in the karahi that you fried the onions in.
- Add the sea salt, powdered spices (coriander, turmeric, and red chilli) and ¼ cup water. Fry for about two minutes on medium heat.
7. Add the wet masala
- Add the wet masala you prepared in step 5 and ½ cup water. Stir well with a spoon and cover with a lid. Cook this for about 20 minutes on medium heat.
8. Add the eggplants
- Add the previously fried eggplants and ½ to ¾ cup water.
- Also, add a few tablespoons of the tamarind water you prepared in step 1. Taste the curry to check the sourness at this point. If it is to your taste, stir everything and cover the karahi with a lid. If not, add more tamarind water. Cook for at least 35 minutes on low to medium heat.
- This curry needs 35 minutes cooking time on slow heat as you want to give all the masalas in it a chance to meld with each other and get cooked perfectly. An alternative is to cook it uncovered on high heat for a shorter time, but be prepared for the masala to splatter all over like crazy. Not nice!
- Add slit green chillies (just a couple), cook for just a minute more and serve hot.
Tip: You will know that curry is ready when it becomes thick and shiny, and the oil leaves the sides of the karahi. The eggplants will have softened too.
Top Tips
As mentioned earlier, if you want to control the sourness of the curry, don't add the tamarind water to the wet masala. Add water instead to blend it, and use the tamarind water while you are cooking the curry. This way, you can taste as you go and add only as much tamarind as you like.
Do cook the curry for the time specified. The full flavor and taste of any curry depends on how well you cook it. A good test of the doneness is to check the smell and appearance. It is done when that raw, slightly sharp smell of the spices, ginger and garlic goes and is replaced by a fragrant aroma instead. Also, the oil will separate and float on the top. This is called the 'bhuna' stage. If you want to know more about some Indian cooking techniques in detail, read this post: 5 Indian Cooking Techniques. It has tips on how to fry onions properly, how to cook in the dum style etc.
Serving Suggestions
Serve bagara baingan with any Indian bread of your choice or white Basmati rice.
You can add a cooling onion raita alongside the baingan, and it will complement the baingan perfectly.
Some people also adore this curry as a side with biryani. Here's an egg biryani, another gem from Hyderabad! If you can't fathom biryani without meat, here's a chicken biryani and a keema biryani for more options!
For more vegetarian dishes, check out the entire collection of vegetarian recipes on the blog:)
Tried this recipe? Please consider giving it a star rating and a comment below. If you're on Instagram, feel free to tag me so I can see your gem. I'd love to hear from you! Thank you:)
📖 Recipe
Bagara Baingan Recipe (Hyderabadi Eggplant Curry)
Equipment
- Small frypan for roasting the dry ingredients
- Blender for making the wet masala
- Karahi or wok for cooking the curry
Ingredients
- ¼ cup tamarind seedless, soaked in ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil for frying the eggplants
- 10 baby eggplants tops cut off and slit lengthwise
- ¼ cup peanuts shelled
- 2 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 tablespoon desiccated coconut unsweetened
- ⅓ cup cooking oil for making the curry
- 1 red onion medium, sliced finely
- 4 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder or use ½ teaspoon for regular red chilli powder
- 2 Thai green chillies
Instructions
- Put the tamarind in a small bowl and pour ½ cup water in it. Let the tamarind soak for 15-20 minutes. After about 20 minutes, pass the mixture through a tea strainer to get tamarind water. You can discard the solids or seeds left behind.
- Cut off the tops of all the eggplants and make deep vertical slits without slicing them in half. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a wok or karahi and fry the eggplants until they soften a little (5-7 minutes).
- Set a small frypan on medium heat. Add the peanuts and stir them around until they turn golden. After about a minute, remove them from the heat and onto a plate. Repeat this step with the sesame seeds, cumin seeds, and coconut, taking care to roast them one by one and not all together. There's no need for oil in this step.
- In the same wok that you fried the eggplant, add ⅓ cup oil and fry the sliced onions until they turn reddish-brown. Take them out with a slotted spoon and keep them aside. Don't discard the remaining oil.
- Add the dry roasted ingredients (peanuts, sesame, cumin, and coconut) and the fried onions to a blender along with a few tablespoons of water and blend. The mixture will be quite thick so keep adding water as you go to get a smooth paste. Your wet masala is ready.
- Heat the oil that was remaining in the karahi (after you fried the onions), and add the ginger-garlic paste. Add the sea salt and all the powdered spices (coriander, turmeric, and Kashmiri red chilli) along with ¼ cup water. Fry for about two minutes.
- Add the wet masala you prepared above and ½ cup water. Stir well and cover with a lid. Cook this for about 20 minutes on low to medium heat.
- Add the fried eggplants, ½ to ¾ cup water and a few tablespoons of the tamarind water you prepared earlier. Check for sourness, and add more if you want. Cover the karahi and cook for 35 minutes on low to medium heat. Once the eggplants are soft, the curry thickens, and the oil separates, your dish is ready. Add the green chillies, cook for a minute more and serve hot with bread or rice.
Notes
- Choose small and firm eggplants with plump skins.
- Most of the ingredients mentioned in the recipe can be found online or in your local Indian and Pakistani groceries.
- Kashmiri chilli is a mild variety of chilli powder. It has a natural fiery red color which is very appealing in curries. If you can't find it, use regular red chilli but reduce the quantity by half.
- Don't be in a hurry to cook the curry. It cooks slowly on low heat for maximum flavour.
- If you want to control the sourness of the curry, don't add the tamarind water to the wet masala. Add plain water instead to blend it, and use the tamarind water while you are cooking the curry. This way, you can taste as you go and add only as much tamarind as you like.
Robin says
This was a great recipe.
Made it last night and enjoyed it thoroughly. Thanks for the recipe.