Bharwan Baingan is a spicy besan/chickpea flour stuffed eggplant curry with a medley of spices and flavors. This vegan and gluten-free curry goes very well with any roti, paratha, naan etc. or even rice!
Eggplant/baingan/aurbergine/brinjal is one vegetable not really liked by many. But in our house, we look forward to any variety to make many mouthwatering dishes like…. Eggplant Parmesan, Baingan Gojju etc.
Browsing the net/tv for blogger inspiration is my only activity in my free time. On one of those jaunts, I came across a stuffed brinjal dish from one of the many youtube bloggers, “Crazy for Indian Kitchen”!
His way of cooking, presenting and a beautiful view of his open kitchen (an open field!) totally fascinated a foodie like me! Inspired by his creations, I decided to make a simple stuffed eggplant curry.
In Indian cooking, there are many ways you can stuff eggplants and make a curry. People from Andhra have their own way like “Gutti Venkaya” or the lip-smacking “Bharli Vangi” of Maharashtra.
Our Konkani community from Mangalore is well known for another stuffed eggplant dish: Vaingana Saglen using coconut, our favorite ingredient in the kitchen, flavored with one simple spice, coriander seeds! I will share this recipe soon!
Today’s dish is another simple and quick curry using simple ingredients; vegan and gluten free.
Small eggplants are slit and stuffed with a spicy filling of besan/chickpea flour. I have used basic spices like coriander seeds, turmeric, chili powder and garlic.
Once stuffed, they are roasted along with onions and more spices and then cooked in its own gravy. The end result is a super delicious vegan and gluten-free curry which goes perfectly with any Indian flat bread or even rice!
Hope you get to make this in your own kitchen soon and make an eggplant lover of everyone!
Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
Here are some more mouth watering eggplant/baingan delights from my kitchen:
Bharwan Baingan is a spicy besan/chickpea flour stuffed eggplant curry with a medley of spices and flavors. This vegan and gluten-free curry goes very well with any roti, paratha, naan etc. or even rice!
Ingredients
- 6 small eggplants
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- Puree of 2 small tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon haldi powder
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- Salt to taste
- Finely chopped coriander leaves for garnish
- 1 cup besan/chickpea flour
- ½ teaspoon haldi/turmeric powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons freshly ground coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 4 large cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Finely chopped coriander leaves/cilantro
Instructions
- Wash eggplants/brinjal/baingan and make a cross cut in all the eggplants (do not cut through; you need the eggplant whole) to enable to be stuffed. If you like, you can remove the stem.
- In a mortar pestle, crush garlic cloves and red chili powder to a coarse paste.
- In a wide bowl, add all the ingredients of the stuffing masala: besan, chili-garlic paste, haldi, salt, oil, chopped coriander leaves and freshly ground coriander powder.
- Mix well with your hands to combine thoroughly into a nice coarse paste. Add more oil if needed to hold the mixture together.
- Stuff each eggplant with this mixture, filling as much as possible. If you have leftover besan stuffing, you can use it to flavor and thicken the gravy.
- Heat oil in a large wide saucepan and once the oil is hot, add the stuffed eggplants gently and stir fry or cook on medium heat until they are charred and slightly roasted.
- Remove and keep aside.
- In the same oil, stir in chopped onions and saute until slightly soft.
- Add tomato puree/paste and mix well.
- Now add the spice powders; coriander powder, red chili powder and haldi. If there is any stuffing leftover, add that too. Mix well to combine.
- Keep frying until you see the oil separating.
- Now add enough water to make a medium consistency gravy. Add salt to taste (remember the stuffing and stuffed eggplants too have salt) and mix well.
- Bring to a boil.
- Add the roasted stuffed eggplants to the boiling gravy and simmer covered, for a few more minutes or until the eggplants are fully cooked.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with any Indian flat bread like chapatti, roti, naan, paratha etc. This is a perfect curry to enjoy with hot steamed rice too!
- Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
Notes
Adjust the amount of spices according to personal taste.
You can use any kind of bringjal/eggplant to stuff with the besan mixture.
Use canned or carton tomato puree instead of fresh tomatoes.
STEP-WISE METHOD TO MAKE BHARWAN BAINGAN/STUFFED EGGPLANT CURRY:
Wash eggplants/brinjal/baingan and make a cross cut in all the eggplants (do not cut through; you need the eggplant whole) to enable to be stuffed. If you like, you can remove the stem.
TO MAKE THE STUFFING MASALA:
In a mortar pestle, crush garlic cloves and red chili powder to a coarse paste.
In a wide bowl, add all the ingredients of the stuffing masala: besan, chili-garlic paste, haldi, salt, oil, chopped coriander leaves and freshly ground coriander powder.
Mix well with your hands to combine thoroughly into a nice coarse paste. Add more oil if needed to hold the mixture together.
Stuff each eggplant with this mixture, filling as much as possible. If you have leftover besan stuffing, you can use it to flavor and thicken the gravy.
TO MAKE THE BHARWAN BAINGAN:
Heat oil in a large wide saucepan and once the oil is hot, add the stuffed eggplants gently and stir fry or cook on medium heat until they are charred and slightly roasted.
Remove and keep aside.
In the same oil, stir in chopped onions and saute until slightly soft.
Add tomato puree/paste and mix well.
Now add the spice powders; coriander powder, red chili powder and haldi. If there is any stuffing leftover, add that too. Mix well to combine.
Keep frying until you see the oil separating.
Now add enough water to make a medium consistency gravy. Add salt to taste (remember the stuffing and stuffed eggplants too have salt) and mix well.
Bring to a boil.
Add the roasted stuffed eggplants to the boiling gravy and simmer covered, for a few more minutes or until the eggplants are fully cooked.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with any Indian flat bread like chapatti, roti, naan, paratha etc. This is a perfect curry to enjoy with hot steamed rice too!
ENJOY!
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Beautifully presented. I love the vangi even after cooking look so beautiful. Mine do not. Will follow your instructions next time.
Thanks so much dear <3
This has been in my list from long time and now I have the perfect recipe...absolutely drooling..loved the stuffing ingredients..will definitely try this?☺
Thanks so much Anshu 🙂 This is becoming my favorite eggplant curry now!
Cute baby eggplants in spicy rich gravy........looks awesome.......Once i made this dish and since then it won my heart......Lovely share for the theme.......... 🙂
Thanks dear Jayeeta! My favorite too!
It's one of my favorite dishes but sadly we don't get baby eggplants here in bucharest so I haven't had any in a long time! 🙁 Your dish is making me crave for some right now 🙂
Thanks a bunch Ashima <3 Hmmm, maybe you can try using chopped eggplants...the gravy is amazing!
Lovely stuffed eggplants. We stuff it with peanuts and sesame seeds. These variations look so good and amazing clicks
Thanks Veena 🙂 I know, I have tried that too...kinda like Andhra dish. This one i loved for the garlic and chilli flavors!
First of all Vanita, I really like your crisp and clear food pics!! Coming to these stuffed baingan, these look so delicious!! My mom always made it dry with a similar stuffing, ,the curry version is also looking tempting!!
Thanks so much Swati 🙂 You are so sweet <3 We make a Konkani version of dry stuffed baingan too. This one gives a lovely north Indian flavor!
WOW !! the besan stuffed baby baingan are looking super cute and must be delicious
Thanks so much dear Sasmita <3
Vanitha, the stuffed baingan with the gram flour looks amazing. It has also led to the thickness in the gravy while cooking so I can imagine the flavours. Any Eggplant dish is special to me as I am particularly partial to the vegetable. I usually stuff it with peanuts and other spices so this one is new to try now! Welcome to the group and hope you enjoy your journey with us.
Thanks so much Vidya <3 So happy and excited to be part of the group. I love the peanut one too, but tried this for the lovely besan hue in it!
This recipe is already in my to-do list, but I was looking for the perfect recipe which goes to my family taste. Here we go, I got it. Vanita this is so delicious dear. I am bookmarking this recipe. Supremely delish dear.
Thanks so much dear <3 I am glad you liked it! Do try and I am sure you will enjoy it as much as we did!
Never tried stuffing baby eggplant with besan. We stuff it with coconut peanutsor sesame seeds. Your droolesome pictures are tempting me to try out this recipe. Wonderful share !
Thanks so much Poonam <3 I know, the peanut one is the more popular one! I just love the roasted besan flavor in this! Do try this soon!
Stuffed baby brinjals are my weakness and this one where besan is used as a binder for the filling is new to me.
Must taste wonderful with both rice and roti.
Thanks a bunch Aruna 🙂 Besan gives a lovely nutty flavor to the gravy and of course, thickens it too 🙂
I make stuffed eggplant but with a slight differentasala. I never use Besan but would give it a try. Looks delectable.
Thanks so much Renu <3 Do give this a try...the roasted besan gives it a lovely nutty flavor!
Oh wow! that stuffed eggplant is making me drool and I am craving for it right now and it is midnight here. Love the stuffing recipe and I am bookmarking the recipe to try soon!
Thanks a ton Sandhya <3 Do give this a try...tastes amazing with rice and rotis!
Lovely recipe. I've never tried gram flour stuffed brinjal, sounds delicious and irresistible. I am tempted to try your version next time. I guess this pairs well with chapathi.
Thanks so much Geetha <3 Yes dear, this goes fabulous with rotis and rice!
I love eggplant specially simple baigan bhaja. But this bharwa baigan and gravy looks so spicy and lip-smackingly delicious.
Superb share.
Thank you so much Sujata <3
I remember making this once, and I ended up eating more than half the lot, though I am no baingan fan! But mine was dry, I love that you have a gravy to go with it, just like the way my family would love it... Looks so well made!
Thanks so much dear 🙂 Our family prefers gravy too!
Being an eggplant lover I can never get enough of bharwan baingan. In fact i can eat it just as is, and now learning to portion control. I love your masala combo as it is different from mine.
Me too! Thanks so much Seema
Those stuffed eggplants are calling me, just love these sort of fingerlicking goodness gravy. Makes me hungry already.
Thanks so much Priya 🙂 I loved this dish too! Another favorite of mine is Baingan Saglen, a specialty from our Konkani community 🙂
We love stuffed brinjals and I too use either besan filling or a coconut one. I usually roast the besan before adding the spices. Such a tempting preparation, would love to have it with some rotis.
Roasting the besan ahead sounds interesting. I am sure it will give more flavor. Will try that next time 🙂 Thanks dear 🙂
Loved this one of my favorites, I do not use Besan for the stuffing, but would love to try your version soon.
This is my favourite among the brinjal dishes. The gravy is so yummy and goes well with plain rice.
MIne too dear 🙂 It tastes so amazing! Thanks so much Shobha 🙂
Oh, wow! I'm a big fan of stuffed baingan, and your version looks absolutely wonderful! Love it! 🙂
Thank you so much 🙂 I love them too dear, this version was absolutely delicious!