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Brinjal Bhaji

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Do you love Brinjal Bhaji but haven’t a clue how to prepare it? In this recipe you will see step-by-step how to go about.

My love affair with aubergine will never cease. I can’t remember when exactly it started but what I do remember is sending my ex-husband on a so-called wild goose chase years ago.

Blogging has brought me many gifts – friends, good food and new experiences. Another thing is fluency of the English language. Through years of writing, words are easily manipulated and toyed with in my head. If I temporarily can’t come up with the right word, chances are there’s a synonym for it.

If all else fails and my brain freezes and I become tongue-tied, I just play the “English is my second language”-card and I get away with it. Most of the time.

Anyhow, when I did my weekly meal planning I jotted down “brinjal” and handed the shopping list to my ex-husband. The word just happened to pop into my head before “aubergine” and “eggplant”.

And off he went on his merry way. He took longer than usual and when he returned he was exasperated. Brinjal is not term commonly known to Brits and even after asking a shop assistant for help and trawling every aisle in the shop, they still came up empty-handed. Whoops.

The first time I came across Brinjal Bhaji on an Indian menu I was perplexed. Thinking of an Onion Bhaji, I wondered what greasy, deep-fried monstrosity would appear if I ordered it.

What arrived was nothing like I imagined it would be and I never looked back, ordering it at every meal out. It was time to learn how to cook it from the best in the business, The Cinnamon Club.

Posh Indian restaurant

In 2009 The Cinnamon Club won Best Restaurant at the World Food Awards and last year it received the accolade “Restaurant of the Year” at the Asian Curry Awards. It recently underwent a £1 million refurbishment, just in time for its 15th anniversary this month. To celebrate the occasion a special tasting menu has been devised by executive chef, Vivek Singh, and head chef, Rakesh Nair. Other events are also held this month, just check out the calendar.

Aubergine offerings differ depending on where you go in India. It can simply be sliced and fried. In Bengal it is mashed with mustard oil, raw onions and chillies. In southern parts of India it is cooked with coconut milk.

This version is a Punjabi dish which is twice cooked – roasted and then sautéed. What I especially like about this recipe is that it’s not drenched in oil which so many standard British Indian restaurants’ versions are. Aubergines are like sponges when it comes to panfrying them in oil. Before you know it, you’re sitting with a highly calorific, somewhat unhealthy plate of food in front of you. Instead, here the aubergines are cooked in their skins in the oven until soft then peeled and finely chopped. This dramatically reduces the need for oil and suddenly turns it into a ultra healthy, vegan meal.


You might wonder why different types of chillies are used in a single recipe. Surely, they all serve the same purpose. No. Dried chillies are actually used to temper and flavour a dish. Chilli powder is used to add heat to the food. At home I made this recipe again and went a bit easy on the chillies across the spectrum. It’s easier to add heat afterwards than trying to save a too spicy dish.

Head chef, Rakesh, pointed out that Brinjal Bhaji is the equivalent of the Middle Eastern Baba Ghanoush. It is best treated like a dip and served with naan or your favourite bread. It goes well with lentil dishes and makes a fabulous lunch.

brinjalinpan

A big plus is that this is a recipe ideal for bulk cooking. If you go to the market you can easily pick up six aubergines for £3 and have a mini-cooking session. As you can see from the pictures, it’s straight forward to make. Cook the aubergines in the oven first. Cool, peel and chop the flesh. Then it’s just a matter of frying all the ingredients in the correct order and adding the aubergine in the end. If you’d like to freeze the dip, omit the garam masala and fresh coriander because these ingredients don’t freeze well. Only after thawing can you add them for maximum impact.

Chef working in restaurant kitchen

Hello, Rakesh! A big thank you for showing us how to make the perfect Brinjal Bhaji.

Indian side dish

What is your favourite way of enjoying aubergine?

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Bhaji Brinjal

Brinjal Bhaji

★★★★★

4.5 from 11 reviews

  • Author: Michelle Minnaar
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 side dish servings 1x
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Description

Brinjal bhaji, also known as “aubergine bhaji”, is a vegan aubergine recipe that is typically served as a starter or side dish as part of an Indian meal.

Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggplant
  • 30ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil
  • 2.5ml (½ tsp) cumin seeds
  • 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2 whole dried red chillies
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 5ml (1 tsp) red chilli powder
  • 5ml (1 tsp) cumin, roasted and ground
  • 2 chopped tomatoes
  • 2.5cm (1 inch) piece of ginger, chopped
  • 2 green chillies, chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1.25ml (¼ tsp) garam masala
  • 15ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh coriander

Instructions

  1. Cook the aubergine in the tandoor or alternatively, smear a little oil on the aubergine and roast it in a moderate oven for about 10-15 minutes. When the skin starts to wrinkle and soften, allow to cool, peel off the skin and mash to a pulp.
  2. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and red chillies and when they begin to crackle, add the garlic and sauté will golden brown. Now add the onions and sauté till they too begin to turn brown. Add the chilli powder and cumin powder and cook for half a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook till they are mashed. Add the ginger and green chillies and mix in the mashed aubergine pulp and stir well for two more minutes.
  3. Add salt and fresh coriander and sprinkle the garam masala. Mix well and turn the heat off after 30 seconds.

Notes

Serve as a side with with a full Indian meal or enjoy as lunch with bread of your choice.

  • Category: Curry
  • Method: Braise
  • Cuisine: Indian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 346g
  • Calories: 122
  • Sugar: 2.8 g
  • Sodium: 4 mg
  • Fat: 7.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 10 g
  • Fiber: 6.3 g

Keywords: brinjal bhaji, brinjal recipes, aubergine bhaji, indian aubergine recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tracey Peach says

    I don’t cook with aubergine because I didn’t know what to do with it, but I do now 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  2. Katie Bryson says

    I don’t cook with aubergine often enough as my husband isn’t hugely keen. I’ll have to try this recipe though as it looks really fab… and you never know he might be converted!

    ★★★

    Reply

  3. Kavey says

    I adore baingan (brinjal) cooked in numerous Indian ways. Of course I’m partial to my mum’s, but this one does look pretty excellent!

    Reply

  10. Meeta says

    I have a crazy passionate love affair with anything aubergines, eggplant or brinjal. This is one of my all time favorite dishes – my mum’s being the best. She adds peas to it too for color. You’ve not only got my mouth watering Michelle but also making me miss my mum!

    Reply

  15. Simone | Simone's Kitchen says

    I love eggplant! It’s such a versatile vegetable although I’ve had my share of failures in that area too. I think my favorite must be roasted from the oven but this looks like something to try for sure. O and I can almost see your husband looking for that weird ingredient.. Lol…

    Reply

  17. Maddy says

    Already signed up to your newsletter, but may have accidentally unsubscribed when I was having an inbox clearout 🙂 Have re-subscribed just in case!

    Reply

  18. Maddy says

    Already signed up to your newsletter, but may have accidentally unsubscribed when I was having an inbox clearout 🙂 Have re-subscribed just in case!

    Reply

  26. Debbie says

    I’ve always fancied using aubergine’s but never really known what to do. Can’t wait to try this recipe now!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  42. gemma brown says

    i’m not really sure what to do with aubergines myself, but often order a mousaka if we go to our greek restaurant and it’s delicious

    Reply

  49. Alison MacDonald says

    I like to cut them in half score them put various seasonings on them and cook in the oven,I do them like this instead of having potatoes sometimes.

    Reply

  50. Ruth Tesdale says

    I like to prepare aubergine like I learned in Egype. First they are boiled umtil soft. Then sliced down the middle to open them up. Then a mix of olive oil, lime juice and chopped cillies and garlic is pread over the surface with salt and black peppre then left in the fridge for the flavours to infuse and then eaten cold with pitta bread.

    Reply

  59. Emma Perry says

    I stuff aubergine with minced lamb cooked with Ras-el-hanut in a tomato based sauce then top it with cheese and bake in the oven…it’s yummy!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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