Aubergine/Eggplants or Begun in Bengali is the biggest love and I for some strange reason missed out on that bandwagon for really long time. I had this weird scratchy allergy in my throat induced everytime I ate eggplants and I seemed to avoid everything made with that vegetable. My mother even made fun of it saying that begun (the bengali word for the vegetable) can be broken down to be – gun which she said means without any gun or any good nutrition. Which now I know isn’t true. Aubergine has a great nutrition value. Thus decided to create this Bengali style yoghurt with aubergine also known as Doi Begun.
I remember seeing this recipe on my friend Kankana’s feed – playfulcooking.com and since then have been wanting to recreate this dish. A lot of other recipes use black mustard paste in this dish but I really liked Kankana’s idea of keeping it simple. I feel its a perfect summery dish which doesn’t need to be complicated with too many flavors and its best to keep it light.
Do you agree as well?
I paired Doi Begun with my mum’s triangle (3 fold) parathas made in whole wheat flour (Atta) and some cumin rice. And went straight to heaven! This goes great as a side dish with any barbeque or even as a good dip/starter dish. You can always pair it with any flat bread of your choice.
Let me know if you give this recipe a try and yes do send me your photos on my Instagram or Facebook page.
Happy Cooking!
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1 large Aubergine/Eggplant Try to get the round type
- 2 cups Greek Yoghurt
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 2-4 tbsp Mustard Oil alternative - sunflower oil
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1/2 tsp Black Mustard Seeds
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 10 gm Curry Leaves I used the frozen curry leaves, using fresh will make it taste even better
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- Handful coriander leaves for garnishing
Ingredients
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- Wash and pat dry the aubergine. Cut it into round slices - 1 cm thick and dip it cold water with a little salt. This will help get rid of the unwanted scratchiness from aubergine and also makes them soft. Soak it in for 30 mins.
- Meanwhile take 2 cups of greek yoghurt or any thick yoghurt (even hung curd is a good option) and add cumin powder, salt and sugar. Whisk it well and keep it separate.
- After 30 mins, discard the water from the aubergine and pat them dry. Add turmeric powder to the slices and rub them on all sides.
- Heat a pan and add oil for shallow frying the aubergine slices. Add them to the pan and fry them for 4-5 mins (each side) on medium to high flame on both sides. Transfer them to a kitchen paper lined plate to soak the excess oil if any.
- Meanwhile take another small pan or a tadka pan and add the remaining oil. Once it is smoking hot, add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chilli powder. And them them cook for just a min.
- To plate this dish - add a little yoghurt (1/3rd of it) in the serving bowl. Spread it well and layer this with the fried aubergine. Add a little of the roasted/fried spice on the aubergine and then add the remaining yoghurt on top. Top this with the remaining fried spice. Enjoy this at room temperature with a flat bread or rice or as a side dish.
Remember to not heat or recook this dish once made as that will cause the yoghurt to split.
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