Dahi Baingan (Fried Eggplant in Yoghurt)

Dahi baingan is an Indian side dish that’s made with lightly fried eggplant, onions, garlic and cilantro in yoghurt. Simple and soothing!

Can’t take the heat of Indian food? Have that spicy curry with spoonfuls of cold dahi baingan. It is the perfect complement to almost all Indian entrees.

When laying the table for a full Indian meal, this is my favourite side dish. It is simple, quickly made and very tasty.

While most recipes for this dish involve deep frying the eggplant and adding spices like turmeric and red chilli powders, I like to keep things simple. I don’t deep fry and I don’t currify (just invented that word!) the baingan (eggplant). My dahi baingan tastes just lovely with a few ingredients and a straightforward/no-fuss method of cooking.

How to make dahi baingan

Step 1: Shallow fry thin eggplant slices. Keep aside.

Step 2: Saute cumin + mustard seeds, sliced onions and garlic in a little oil.

Step 3: Add the fried eggplant (half) and onion-garlic tempering to yoghurt. Mix well.

Step 4: Garnish with the remaining eggplant and fresh cilantro.

Finito! Now, wasn’t that simple?

My adaptation of dahi baingan tastes great with rice dishes like biryani, pulao and even rajma chawal (kidney beans with rice). I even eat it with plain boiled rice sometimes, especially if it’s left over from the day before. In fact, I love having left over dahi baingan with pretty much anything!

Fancy more Indian eggplant recipes? Check these out:

• Baghare Baingan (tangy eggplant curry)
• Baingan Bharta (mashed eggplant stir fry)

Dahi Baingan (Fried Eggplant in Yoghurt)

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

Dahi baingan is an Indian side dish that’s made with lightly fried eggplant, onions, garlic and cilantro in yoghurt. Simple and soothing!

• Author: Saima Zaidi
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings
• Category: Side
• Method: Saute
• Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

• 4 baby eggplants, sliced
• oil for shallow frying
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 cups yoghurt
• 1 spring cilantro
• 1 green chilli, deseeded and sliced (optional)
• sea salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Shallow fry the sliced eggplant until golden brown on both sides. Remove and keep aside.
2. In the same oil as the eggplant was fried, add the cumin and mustard seeds. When they splutter, add onion and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool down.
3. Take some cold yoghurt in a bowl and add salt, half the eggplant as well as the onion and garlic along with any oil in the pan. Mix well.
4. Garnish with the remaining eggplant, cilantro and green chilli. Serve cold.

Notes

1. If baby eggplant is not available, take a medium sized eggplant and halve it. Cut thin slices off one half and use these for frying.
2. Let the onion-garlic mixture cool down completely before adding it to the yoghurt.

Nutrition

• Calories: 264.6
• Sugar: 7.9 g
• Sodium: 356 mg
• Fat: 22.4 g
• Saturated Fat: 2.2 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 19.2 g
• Carbohydrates: 11.6 g
• Fiber: 1.3 g
• Protein: 5 g

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