Some of you, in fact, a lot of you may not have a soft corner for the humble vegetable brinjal, eggplant or aubergine (baingan in Hindi). But to me, this veggie is quite a star. Because of its otherwise bland taste, it soaks up flavors from other ingredients like a pro. Also, the spongy and firm raw texture becomes deliciously melt-in-mouth when smoked, fried or even braised. One of my favorite recipes is thus, this Brinjal Fry with minimal ingredients. This is a vegan preparation of tasty, crispy pan fried eggplant slices. Try it, you’ll like it too.
Table of Contents
About Brinjal Fry
What’s basically happening in this recipe is that the brinjal or baingan is thickly sliced and marinated in a mixture of red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, asafoetida and salt. Then, each slice is carefully, evenly dredged with rava or sooji (cream of wheat) and pan-fried to a perfect crispy golden.
Thus, this Brinjal Fry is one of the easiest as well as tastiest recipes that you can ever make with this vegetable. In fact, it is a lovely fried veggie dish that you can make whenever you wish to. These brinjal slices have nice sweetish tones and a soft texture from within and crisp from outside.
I often make veggie fries as a side dish to go with our meals. The vegetables are sliced, marinated with spices and then coated with rice flour, gram flour or semolina. Later, pan-fried or shallow-fried in oil.
More On Fried Eggplant Recipe
This crispy Fried Eggplant resemble the way a Begun Bhaja is made in Bengali cuisine. However, each home has its own variation of making this dish.
I make this Brinjal Fry using less spice powders and coating the brinjal slices with semolina flour or rice flour. You can even use chickpea flour or gram flour (besan) or cornstarch or all-purpose flour.
In this method, the veggie is shallow fried in oil. Since brinjal absorbs a lot of oil, I pan-fry it and use less oil while frying. Other such vegetable fries can even be baked or air fried too.
Another thing to remember is that to make this Brinjal Fry, you have to use the large variety of brinjal or eggplant with less seeds. This variety is also traditionally used to make the famous Baingan Bharta – a North Indian, especially Punjabi delicacy made of roasted brinjal, onions, tomatoes, spices and herbs.
This Brinjal Fry or Fried Eggplant is best teamed as an accompaniment with dal-chawal (lentil-rice) combination or khichdi.
How to make Brinjal Fry
Preparation
1. Rinse and slice 250 grams bharta baingan (brinjal) or 1 large aubergine (having less seeds) in 0.5 cm thickness.
2. In a large bowl or pan take enough water. Soak the brinjal slices for about 10 minutes. The brinjal slices should be immersed in water.
3. Later, drain all the water and take the brinjal slices on a large plate or tray.
Marinate Brinjal Slices
4. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala powder, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder and 1 generous pinch asafoetida (hing) on brinjal slices.
5. Sprinkle some salt as per taste.
6. Mix and coat the brinjal slices evenly with the salt and spice powders.
Dredge Marinated Brinjal
7. Take 4 to 5 tablespoons semolina flour (rava, suji or cream of wheat), gram flour (besan) or rice flour on another plate.
Also, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil on a tawa or frying pan or skillet. For frying each batch of 4 to 5 brinjal slices, add 1 to 2 tablespoons oil.
You could also opt to dredge the eggplant slices with chickpea flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch or tapioca starch.
8. Take each brinjal slice and place it on the rava.
9. Evenly dredge and coat the brinjal slice with the rava. Dust of excess rava by gently tapping the slice.
Make Brinjal Fry
10. Place the brinjal slices on the tawa or skillet.
11. Fry on medium heat. Let one side become crisp and lightly golden.
12. Then, turn over and fry the second side till crisp and lightly golden. Flip a couple of times more for even frying. This way fry the brinjal in 3 to 4 batches. Add more oil, if required.
13. Remove the fried brinjal slices and place them on kitchen paper towels.
14. Serve Brinjal Fry hot or warm as a side dish with khichdi or dal-rice. You can garnish with few coriander leaves, if you want.
Yes, to Brinjal
Most of the people really underestimate the power of ingredients, especially when it comes to fresh vegetables, which don’t fit in the regular tasty bracket or look a little different than the rest. One such veggie is brinjal or baingan, which is not liked by many for the same reasons.
However, I totally beg to differ on this part. As I said earlier too, I really feel brinjal is a versatile produce that nature has for us and we should definitely put it to use in our day-to-day cooking.
Just like this Brinjal fry, there are many more dishes – ranging from easy, simple, basic to royal, intricate ones – that prove the fact that this veggie deserves more bouquets, than brickbats.
This Brinjal Fry and baingan bharta do top the list of my most-loved Indian baingan dishes. Along with this, here are some more, which are definitely worth a mention as well as a try:
- Eggplant Parmigiana: A classic Italian preparation of pan fried eggplant layered with tomato sauce, cheese, herbs and baked in an oven to perfection.
- Bharwa Baingan: Is simply stuffed eggplants – a classic from Punjabi cuisine. There’s also a Maharashtrian version of this recipe called the Bharli Vangi. Don’t miss out on any of these.
- Baingan Bharta: You really can’t not mention about this unique, sumptuous smoky, tangy and spiced eggplant mash, when speaking of North Indian food.
- Brinjal Pakora: Obviously, the list of Indian dishes can never be completed without the mention of fried foodstuffs. Pakoda are an all-time favorite, with one and all. Next time, give these crispy eggplant fritters a try.
More Similar Recipes To Try!
Capsicum Recipes
Vegetable Recipes
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Brinjal Fry | Fried Eggplant Recipe
Ingredients
For marinating brinjal
- 250 grams eggplant large sized, (bharta baingan), having less seeds
- 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 generous pinch asafoetida (hing), optional
- salt as per taste
Other ingredients
- 4 to 5 tablespoons semolina flour (rava, suji or cream of wheat) or gram flour or rice flour or cornstarch or all-purpose flour
- 4 to 6 tablespoons oil or add as required
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse and then slice brinjal (aubergine or vankaya) in slices having 0.5 cm thickness.
- In a large bowl or pan take enough water. Add ½ teaspoon salt and mix. Soak the brinjal slices for about 10 minutes. The brinjal slices should be immersed in the water.
- Later drain all the water and take the brinjal slices in a large plate or tray.
Marination for brinjal fry
- Sprinkle ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala powder, 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder and 1 generous pinch of asafoetida (hing).
- Sprinkle some salt as per taste.
- Mix and coat the spices evenly all over the brinjal slices.
- Take 4 to 5 tablespoons rava or gram flour or rice flour in another plate. Also heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil on a tawa or frying pan or skillet. For frying each batch of 4 to 5 brinjal slices, add 1 to 2 tablespoons oil.
- Take each slice and place it on the rava.
- Evenly dredge and coat the brinjal slice with the rava. Dust of excess rava by gently tapping the slice.
Making fried eggplant
- Place the brinjal slices on the skillet or frying pan or tawa.
- Fry on medium heat. Let one side become crisp and light golden.
- Then turn over and fry the second side till it becomes crisp and light golden. Flip a couple of times more for even frying. Fry till the brinjal slices are crisp and golden. This way fry the brinjal in three to four batches. Add more oil if required.
- Remove the fried eggplant slices and place them on kitchen paper towels.
- Serve brinjal fry hot or warm as a side dish with khichdi or dal-rice. You can garnish with few coriander leaves if you want.
Notes
- For a spicier Brinjal Fry, add more red chilli powder.
- To bring some variation, you can add a bit of ginger and garlic paste while marinating the brinjals.
- For a healthier option, choose to grill/bake or air-fry the brinjal.
- Easily scale the recipe according to your preferences.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Brinjal Fry recipe post from the archives first published in January 2018 has been republished and updated on October 2022.
Hi Dassana,
Thank you for this superb recipe. My son who does not eat brinjal just loved eating it. The whole family loved it. Thank you so much.
Thanks a lot Sumathi. Glad to hear that and most welcome.
Can we use green brinjals?
Yes, you can try making the recipe with green brinjals. The smaller sized brinjals will cook faster than medium to large sized brinjals.
Hi Dassana,
The recipe sounds easy to make. I have a couple of brinjals at home and I thought this recipe would be great for dinner. Question – while buying brinjals, how do you know if they have less or more seeds? Also, if the brinjals I have at home have more seeds would this dish be made differently? I ask as you’ve mentioned less seeds a few times. Thanks for your help!
thanks mel. brinjals with less or no seeds are lighter in weight as compared to brinjals with more seeds. so if a brinjal feels light in your hand, then it will have less seeds.