Baigani (ବାଇଗଣି ) or eggplant fritters are basically a different avatar of pakoras (ପକୁଦି). Pakoras (ପକୁଦି) are the perfect rainy day mate. In India the monsoon season usually starts around July and stays for a good month or two. The monsoon season is one of the most awaited of all and gives a relief from the intense summer. I remember in my childhood, summers would sometimes be as hot as 48 degrees celsius. Odisha is usually hit pretty hard by the monsoon season as well. July is one of the wettest months, with some major flooding in the rivers. It is both a boon and a bane to the Odia farmers.
"Baigani"(ବାଇଗଣି) is a deep fried eggplant dish which is often consumed as a snack with tea (ginger tea - mmmm). You can also make similar kind of pakoras using potatoes or zucchinis. Some people use baking powder in their recipe for baigani, but I like to keep it simple and straightforward. To fry the baignis, I've used a Kadhai. Kadhai (କଡେଈ) is a deep, thick-bottom circular dish, if you don't have one, just use any deep dish that you have, a wok would work fine. Speaking of kadhais, all households in Odisha and even other states have a "tela-kadhai" permanently in the kitchen [ତେଲ / Tela means oil]. Often mom's will whip up something fried if meals are a little plain jane, and specially during monsoon, the tela-kadhais work quite a lot ;) so they earn their respect in the kitchen.
So let's get our hands oily ;) Oh and this time I've included some videos of the making process for your viewing pleasure. So here goes...
"Baigani"(ବାଇଗଣି) is a deep fried eggplant dish which is often consumed as a snack with tea (ginger tea - mmmm). You can also make similar kind of pakoras using potatoes or zucchinis. Some people use baking powder in their recipe for baigani, but I like to keep it simple and straightforward. To fry the baignis, I've used a Kadhai. Kadhai (କଡେଈ) is a deep, thick-bottom circular dish, if you don't have one, just use any deep dish that you have, a wok would work fine. Speaking of kadhais, all households in Odisha and even other states have a "tela-kadhai" permanently in the kitchen [ତେଲ / Tela means oil]. Often mom's will whip up something fried if meals are a little plain jane, and specially during monsoon, the tela-kadhais work quite a lot ;) so they earn their respect in the kitchen.
So let's get our hands oily ;) Oh and this time I've included some videos of the making process for your viewing pleasure. So here goes...
| PREP TIME | COOKING TIME | SERVES |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 10 minutes | 2 |
INGREDIENTS
| Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Eggplant | I used half of a big sized eggplant. Depending on how many pieces of fritters you want, adjust your eggplant quantity |
| Chickpea Flour | 5 - 6 Tablespoon (this might vary based on the size of the eggplant or the number of pieces you plan to make) |
| Green Chillies (optional) | 1 - 2 |
| Water | Double the amount of chickpea flour ; enough to make a thin semi-liquid paste |
| Oil (I used vegetable oil) | Enough for deep frying; if you don't want to deep fry you can shallow fry too |
| Turmeric | 1/2 tea spoon |
| Ginger powder (optional) | 1/2 tea spoon |
| Salt | To taste |
PREP
- Cut the eggplant into circular pieces and put them in water (putting them in water makes sure they don't become discoloured while you complete your prep)
- Put your wok on the stove and add sufficient oil for deep frying
PROCEDURE
- Take a wide bowl, put your chickpea flour and add water such that it's enough to make a light paste
- Add salt, turmeric powder and green chillies. You can also add ginger powder for added flavour.
- After the oil is heated adequately, you can start frying the fritters by dipping the eggplant pieces in the chickpea paste so they form a thin but not too thin layer on the eggplant. [You can put a drop of the chickpea paste in the oil to test if the oil is hot enough, if it's hot the chickpea droplet will start to sizzle and bubble up like a really peppy song ;)]
- Fry them until they're golden brown on both sides
- After they're done, put them on tissues to get the excess oil out. They're now ready to be devoured. Don't tell me you forgot your tea, get that water boiling :)
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Serve hot with chutney or enjoy them without any condiments. Sriracha goes really well with these.
Feedback and comments always welcome!
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