Baingan Baja(Pan Fried Egg Plants)

I first had these shallow fried egg plants at my friend Bobby’s house in Toronto. This is a staple in every Bengali household. Bhaja in Bengali is thick slices of vegetable coated with gram flour and shallow fried. With a soft inner and a crispy texture on the outside, I instantly took a liking to it.

Ingredients:

Egg plant – 1 big

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Red chillie powder – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Rice flour – 1/4 cup

Sugar – 1/4 tsp

Oil for frying (Mustard oil preferred)

Preparation:

Wash and cut the egg plants into 1 1/2 cm thick round slices. Wipe them in a kitchen towel to remove the moisture.

In a mixing bowl, add chillie powder, turmeric powder, salt and sugar and mix well.

Rub this mixture on both sides of the egg plants. Then, coat the egg plant slices with rice flour.

Next, take a skillet and heat it. When hot, reduce the flame to medium and pour little oil on it. Shallow fry the egg plants. When golden on one side, turn it over and fry.

Serve it hot with rice.