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Beguni
বেগুনি · Kolkata's batter-fried aubergine slices for rainy afternoons
When the monsoon arrives in Kolkata, the telebhaja shops at every para corner start frying beguni: long, thin slices of aubergine dipped in a spiced gram-flour batter and fried until the coat puffs and turns golden. It is eaten with muri and a cup of tea, or alongside khichuri on a wet Saturday. The inside should be soft and creamy, the shell thin and crackly. Chef's tip: a spoonful of rice flour and a pinch of nigella in the batter keep it crisp long after frying. This is a different dish from begun bhaja, where the slices are fried bare with turmeric and salt.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the batter
For frying
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Slice 1 large long aubergine lengthways into 5 mm-thick slices. Sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt and leave for 10 minutes, then pat dry. Thicker slices stay raw in the middle; much thinner ones go papery.
10 minStep 2: Whisk 3 ½ oz gram flour (besan), 2 tbsp rice flour, ½ tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, ½ tsp nigella seeds (kalonji), 1 tsp white poppy seeds, 1 pinch gluten-free asafoetida, ¾ tsp salt and ½ tsp sugar with ½ cup cold water to a batter that coats a spoon thickly and drips off slowly, like double cream. Whisk for a minute to get air in.
Step 3: Heat 2 cups mustard oil or vegetable oil in a kadai over a medium-high heat. If using mustard oil, let it smoke briefly, then lower the heat a little. It is ready when a drop of batter rises at once with steady bubbles.
5 minStep 4: Stir 1 pinch bicarbonate of soda into the batter. Dip each slice, let the excess drip off, and slide 3–4 into the oil. Common mistake: crowding the pan. The oil cools, and the batter soaks up oil and turns heavy.
Step 5: Fry for 2 minutes a side over a medium heat until deep golden and crisp and the bubbles around them slow down. Drain on a rack, not on paper, so the underside stays crisp. Serve hot with muri, kasundi or ketchup.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 20 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does beguni take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
- What can I use instead of kashmiri chilli powder?
- Sweet paprika with a pinch of cayenne (gives the same colour, less heat).
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