Brinjal or Eggplant forms the main ingredient of this Bhagaray Baingan Curry Recipe, that uses the unique taste of the vegetable, blending it with spices to create a wonderful, versatile and satisfying dish.

Served as a side dish in Hyderabadi cuisine along with Biryani or with rice, Hyderabadi Baingan turns tasteful because of usage of peanuts, coconut, coriander powder, garam masala, cumin seeds, curry leaves and tamarind.

Useful tips:

• To make Bhagaray Baingan curry recipe, make sure that you dry roast all the ingredients to make a rich masala paste.
• You will need a good blender to make smooth paste to make this recipe.
• To make it even richer and healthier, add almond and cashew nuts in the paste.
• Do not use too much water while grinding otherwise it will take a long time for the masala to fry properly.
• Soak the brinjals in water after cutting to avoid them turning black.

Dry roast onion, ginger and garlic for 3-4 minutes. Remove on a plate. Roast coconut shreds until brown and remove on a plate. Dry roast peanuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dry red chillies and coriander seeds until brown and fragrant and remove on a plate.  Add all the roasted ingredients in a blender and grind to make a smooth paste. Use little water if required. Wash the baingan and wipe them dry. Cut into long pieces. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, fry the baingan till slightly browned. Drain and keep aside. In the same oil, add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Let them crackle and then add the ground masala along with 1/2 cup water. Cook the masala until oil starts to separate on the side of the pan. Add tamarind pulp, jaggery, red chilli powder and salt. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add water to thin the gravy. Add baingan and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve hot with phulke or Rice.

Roast 2 tbsp fennel seeds on a griddle along with 2tbsp whole coriander and 2tbsp cumin. Add the roasted spices  in 1 cup tamarind paste along with 4tbsp desiccated coconut,1tsp red chili powder,1/2tsp turmeric and 1tsp salt. Mix well. Slit open the chilies lengthwise and fill each chili with the tamarind mixture. Heat 1 cup oil in a wok and fry the chopped onions until pink. Now beat in the yogurt and cook until the water given out by the yogurt dries. Add the green chilies, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Mash the beans in a large bowl and add onion, hot sauce, bell pepper and breadcrumbs. Mix until well combined.

Press firmly to form into 4 patties. If pan-frying, heat a tablespoon or so of oil in a skillet and lightly fry until a nice outer crust forms. Or, fire up the grill and barbecue your black bean veggie burgers over medium heat.

This recipe uses canned black beans, but if you prefer, you can start with 1 2/3 cup dried beans. You’ll need to soak and boil them to get them to the soft, fully-cooked consistency you’ll need for this recipe so that they can be easily mashed; and of course, make sure they are well-drained, just like you would need to drain canned beans.

Vegetables such as onion can exude liquid, which will make the veggie burger soggy. Before adding the diced onion to the mixture, squeeze it in a paper towel or dish towel to release the juice.