Baingan pakora or brinjal bajji are fried crisp vegan fritters made with brinjals, gram flour (besan), herbs and spices.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Snacks
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 5 to 6 brinjal ((small sized) - eggplant or aubergine)
  • 1 cup gram flour ((besan))
  • ⅔ cup water (or add as required)
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))
  • ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (or cayenne pepper or paprika)
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder ((ground coriander))
  • ½ teaspoon cumin powder ((ground cumin))
  • 1 pinch baking soda (- optional)
  • salt (as required)
  • oil (for deep frying, as required)

Method

Making batter

  1. In a mixing bowl take the dry ingredients - gram flour, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and a generous pinch of asafoetida (hing). Also add baking soda and salt as required.
  2. Add ⅔ cup of water or as required.
  3. Whisk to a smooth batter without lumps. Add water as required to make a medium consistency batter.

Frying

  1. Rinse and slice the brinjals thinly.
  2. Dip the brinjal slices in the batter evenly.
  3. In a kadai or pan heat the oil. You can use any neutral oil with a high smoking point like sunflower oil or peanut oil. Once the oil becomes medium hot, gently place them in the medium hot oil for frying.
  4. Turn over when one side is cooked partly.
  5. After a minute or so, flip again and fry the pakora till crisp and evenly golden.
  6. With a slotted spoon remove the pakora and drain as much oil as possible.
  7. Place the pakora on a paper kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Fry the pakoras in batches this way.
  8. Serve the baingan pakora hot or warm with coriander chutney or tamarind chutney or tomato ketchup. Sometimes we also have them with roti or bread. They can also be stuffed inside bread to make sandwich.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.